Tag: Hunger

Lord, when did we see you?

This is a great question for someone looking for a loophole or the letter of the law and not the spirit of it.

Lord, when didn’t we see you? When were our eyes focused on ourselves so much that we didn’t see you in the faces of those who go hungry, are mentally or physically ill, are homeless or are in prison. And don’t forget those exhausted parents of young children, immigrants to our country, and the elderly.

If we take time to look around for those who have needs, we will surely see. Sometimes the easiest person to spot is that person who is an earlier version of ourselves. May God open our eyes today to see our neighbor in need and open the door to a connection.

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25: 31-46 NLT

PrayerPoint ~ Dirty Dishes ~ March 15

We have been experimenting in the kitchen quite a bit lately. And this always seems to generate lots of dishes. No one is  our house is thrilled to see dirty dishes in the sink because they know they will be asked to do them, but those dishes do signify a basic need being met in our home. As I look around at the other domestic tasks waiting to be done today, I can be thankful for the shelter, the clothing, and the other provisions of God.

Even though Jesus said “You will always have the poor among you…” (John 12:8), I don’t think that meant we were just supposed to ignore their needs.

There are many in the world who do not have the resources we have. Today, let’s pray for those in the world who do not have basic needs being met. Pray about your involvement in alleviating world hunger. Have you considered regularly praying for countries by name or sponsoring a child through World Vision or Compassion International? Maybe contributing to or volunteering at the local food bank? Last year our church started an alms garden. The volunteers plant, water, weed, and harvest an entire backyard garden and take the fresh produce to a local food program. It’s an alternative to mowing that part of the property and it blesses so many with fresh, healthy vegetables! The possibilities are endless but it all starts with prayer.

Life just gets crazy sometimes and I lose focus on some important things. I will have to start by asking for forgiveness because I have been too busy to even have this issue on my mind recently.

Refocusing,

Liz