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Lately, I have been reading a lot from my Bible, as a result I am both gleaning insights from it and also coming up with lots of questions. Today I read from Matthew 25 and this part jumped out at me:
Matt 25:35-45
35 - For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 - Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 - Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave the drink?
38 - When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 - Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 - And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 - Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 - For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 - I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 - Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 - Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
I've read these verses over and over and the way that I am understanding it is that it is our duty (and privilege) as Christians to help those that are in need. Now you might be scratching your head and going "Why would she say it's a privilege?", I say that it is a privilege because it says right in Scripture that when we help someone in need we are helping our Lord (remember, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.").
I also don't think that helping someone out is limited to what is listed in the above verses, sometimes the most meaningful way to help someone out is to sit there with them and listen to them with understanding and not judge what they are going through. It's really easy to start saying "You know you really should be doing this, this and this", especially when we aren't physically going through what the other person is going through.
Sometimes some of us are just plain better equipped to help people out - for example, when my Dad was in the Cancer Hospital my sister was driving my Mom and siblings back and forth from our hometown to the hospital so we could stay with my Dad. I totally felt left out in that I wasn't helping as much as I felt my siblings were - so I did what God has blessed me to do: I cooked for my Mom, while others were there physically for her (most of my siblings live closer to her than I do), I made sure that she had ready-made meals in the freezer so she didn't have to worry about cooking for herself.
To me, cooking a little extra at our meals and freezing it for her was a small thing - my Mom appreciated everything that her children did during that difficult time and even though it didn't seem like much to me, I was doing my Christian duty, I was helping my Lord by helping her.
And yes, sometimes it kind of feels like an inconvenience to help others out: I'm sick, I'm on holidays, my house is a mess, etc., etc., etc. (you've probably heard those excuses and more). However, it is soooooooo worth it when we do step up and help out, we just need to take the first step and follow God's lead.
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