We often talk about seeking God, and of finding him. Of searching for him, and of longing for him. Oh, how I long to find him, to see him, to touch him. I long for the day that I will see him face to face. (See the end of this post for a list of our previous posts that have touched on this topic). Oddly enough, though, in the context of those thoughts, I have not often given much consideration to the following verses. But over the past few days, these are the words I have been pondering. These words of Jesus have echoed in my heart and reverberated in my mind.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46
As I have sat with this, these are some of the questions that I have been asking:
Where in my life do I feed Jesus? When do I give him something to drink? Where do I embrace the stranger? And so embrace Jesus in the process? How often is it that I do that? When do I clothe him? Where in my life do I tend to him when he is sick? Or visit him in prison?
And, alongside these questions, I have wondered: Is giving money enough? Even if it is costly to do so? Is that what Jesus asks of me? Is caring for my family enough? Even when my children are young and needy? And can I even ask the question if anything is “enough”? Or is that missing the whole point entirely?
It seems, at least to me, loving my children and my husband, and loving my extended family is not really what Jesus means here. To love those who are close to me seems to me to really be loving an extension of myself. That is not to say that is not significant, important or necessary, for it is clearly all of that. But I have the unsettling notion that Jesus is getting at something far different here.
And giving money, well I can do that. This is something that I believe is impossible to neglect as a follower of Jesus. But, if in doing so I think I am exempt from any need to do anything else am I missing the point? For, usually, giving money is divorced of the personal and so I do not get to touch people (literally or figuratively) in the process. And so do I then fail to touch Jesus himself? And to be touched in return?
It would be easy to react to this passage from Matthew with fear and anxiety, but that is not where I am coming from. I am certainly not trying to make you feel guilty or afraid by inviting you to join me in this conversation. But I am sharing my thoughts and my questions with you, for perhaps they are similar to ones you have thought yourself.
As I have been thinking about all this the following words of Mother Teresa, have also sat alongside me,
‘What is my thought? I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, This is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.’
Mother Teresa
I do not have all the answers to these questions, but I know that this is what I long to do. To serve my Jesus, because I love him. To seek him out in those around me, and to go and find him where he needs to be found. Will you join me?
Oh Lord, change my heart and my mind. May I see you in the people before me. Jesus, may I seek you in the need of my world. May I serve you and tend you in it. And in so doing, may I see your face. Amen
Are these questions that you too grapple with? How do you answer them?
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As promised, here is a list of previous posts that have discussed or touched on the concept of longing for God:
I too struggle with what serving really looks like. How it is lived out. Thank you Alicia for sharing your thoughts your posts are always thought provoking and encouraging.
Thanks for the reminder that Jesus is to be found in the most unlikely of places and people if we only had eyes to see Him.