no doubt Jesus' words in Matthew 25:31-46 are pretty intense. i've talked about them a lot. Those words (and many others like them in Scripture) are changing the way we see everything.
To sum up - basically Jesus said that when we help the hungry, thirsty, foreigners, poor, and prisoners it's just like we're helping Jesus Himself. When we ignore them we're dissing Jesus. it's a very sobering talk from Jesus.
Yesterday i read about half of A Hole In Our Gospel by the President of World Vision, Richard Stearns. When he was talking about this passage his paraphrase almost knocked me down. i literally had to go and sit down and write some thoughts.
After reading the passage from Matthew he gave his contemporary paraphrase:
"I was hungry
while you had all you needed.
I was thristy
but you drank bottled water.
I was a stranger
and you wanted me deported.
I needed clothes
but you needed more clothes.
I was sick
but you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness.
I was in prison
and you said I was getting what I deserved."
*is that us? we do that right? is that me? is that you?
i'm still just letting that sink in. i hope you'll do the same.
