Bible Reading: Job 10-12; Acts 8:1-25
“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.”- Matthew 25:40.
When we serve others, it is as if we are serving Christ. Especially if these others are Christian brothers and sisters in need. We know from the Scriptures that it is our responsibility to care for other Christians. And since all Christians are members of the body of Christ, when we serve it is as if we are serving Christ.
Jesus teaches in Matthew 10:40-42 that if we receive prophets and teachers and even do something small like give cups of cold water, then we will receive reward and praise from Him because it was as if we were doing these things to Him. We should all be involved in feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, giving rest to the weary, visiting those in prison or sick at home.
In Matthew 12:50, Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” His brethren are His followers who seek to do God’s will. We should treat His brethren with humble compassion as we recognize they are His servants carrying out His will. How we treat them expresses our love for and commitment to Jesus Himself. But when we treat them harshly, it exposes our lack of devotion to Him.
Jesus holds us accountable in how we live our lives. If we claim to live for Christ but our actions demonstrate differently, we need to examine the validity of our salvation. With Christ living in us, we should be a reflection of His character. Jesus treated others with love, kindness and grace – and so we ought to do the same. When His character shows through our actions, we put Him on display to the world around us. Jesus commanded in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Jesus will be our final judge and there will come a day when we must stand before Him and give an account for how we lived our lives and how we reflected His glory to the world around us.
Prayer: Father, grant me the grace to live aright, so I can reflect the nature and character of Christ in caring for others.