Devotion: Serve
Matthew 25:31-40
“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 the 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.’
This passage feels fairly straightforward. When you get down to the core of it, Jesus is saying that we are always to help those who need it. Most of us Christians probably believe we do pretty well with that. At Sheridan alone, we have so many ministries where we can donate time and money to care for those who need help. And in these ways, we absolutely follow through on the lesson in this passage, and we should be joyful in how much good we can do and have done.
But it’s important to note Jesus’s language in this passage. Specifically, the fact that He doesn’t equivocate when it comes to how we’re to help. He doesn’t say “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat… when I came to the soup kitchen where you were volunteering” or “I was a stranger and you invited me in… after I went through the proper procedures.” Jesus is calling us to look after the sick, clothe the naked and visit the prisoner, full stop. We shouldn’t even consider whether or not those people deserve or have earned our help. And serving only when it’s convenient and comfortable for us won’t cut it. The people we’re called to serve have already earned our help by virtue of being God’s children, and Jesus doesn’t give us an out to neglect these duties based on our own comfort or our ideas of who is and isn’t worthy.
And we can’t forget the last line of this passage: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” I know how easy it can be to get a big head and feel all high and mighty when serving those who don’t experience the same privileges I do. But Jesus relates to and puts himself in the shoes of those needing help. Through serving the needy, Jesus makes it clear we are serving Him, which is a privilege and an honor, not something we do to show how great we are.
When we learn to see Jesus in those we serve, an attitude of superiority becomes one of humbleness.
Lord, help us to avoid the excuses we find that keep us from serving as You called us to serve. Let us see You in everyone who needs our help so that we can serve with an attitude of humbleness and gratitude. Amen.
Written by Preston Thiemann
Preston Thiemann married his wife, Rachel, in September 2017. They live here in Lincoln. He is the Web Content Coordinator for the ASEM Marketing team at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he’s worked since April 2015. At Sheridan, he also plays guitar on the Praise Band. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching movies and spending time with friends.