PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 18:1-14
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14)
I’ve spent the whole week reflecting on God’s compassion and passion for the ‘little ones’. As Christians we talk a lot about doing the Father’s will. According to this verse, the Father’s will is to keep the wandering ones from perishing. How compassionate and passionate am I about this?
Who are the ‘little ones’ around me? Those who don’t know Jesus? Those whose lives have become desperate? Those who are experiencing some form of difficulty in life? Those who are treated as less, or judged as bad? Those who are bullied? Those who have mental health issues? Those who are struggling financially, unemployed or underemployed? Those whose marriages or families are unhealthy? Those with addictions? Those who are living on the edge? Those who are homeless or hungry? Those who different from us (race, religion, lifestyle, social standing, values, sexual orientation)? Those who have been abused? Those who have experience neglect? Those who are lonely, shunned, or abandoned? Those who are immigrants, visible minorities, refugees? The list seems to be endless!!!
Actually, this is overwhelming. How can I help all the people that need help? God does not expect me to help everyone, but God does want me to help Jesus in helping some. Satan wants to overwhelm us with everything so that we do nothing. Though we can’t do everything, we can do something. It may seem small, insignificant, not making a difference. But if all Jesus followers did something for someone, imagine how significant that would be!
It’s time to do something! In these words Jesus is calling me to join Him and the Father in being a servant to someone else, someone at the bottom and struggling to make it.
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” ((John 13:17)
But what will I do about it? I sense the Lord compelling me to take an action step, to choose one person or one area of concern and to passionately and compassionately devote myself to doing something. Believing Jesus is not about thinking the right way, it is about living it out. For me personally, I have struggled with seeing the homeless in our community. Is the Lord calling me to start somewhere – Food Bank, Urban Hope, Trinity Table, The Bridges Mission To The Margins? I can’t do everything, but I can do something!
Lord Jesus, You are calling me to follow You in what I do, not just in what I think. Help me to follow through on these reflections, and seek and serve the wandering ‘little ones’ that you are putting in my path.