That Was Me

Sunday night, I had the honor of watching over 50 teenagers assemble Boxes of Hope for Metropolitan Ministries. These boxes provided a Thanksgiving meal for families who would have otherwise gone without. $500 in gift certificates to buy turkeys was collected along with 50 boxes of food. How amazing it that?!

Our scripture reference was Matthew 25:34-40. 
 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

I have a friend who has this passage on her heart. A friend who carries it with her everywhere she goes. She has more than once shared that verse 40 shapes her attitudes and actions. I want to be more like her. I want to be transformed into the person Jesus created me to be. Sometimes I think of this passage just in terms of a service project with homeless people. The thing is - the overlooked and ignored - are all around us. It's our sister, it's the girl in our bible study who we don't click with, it's our teacher, it's our friend. Think about that person's eyes. You know how you can always see the hurt and the confusion in the eyes of those who are overlooked and forgotten? The eyes say it all. Whose eyes have you looked into lately and known they felt overlooked and forgotten? How can you love them? How can you serve them? How can you care for them? When you love, serve, and care for them here's what Jesus has to say to you - That was me. You did it to me.