Love=Action

Luke 9, 48

48"And he said to them, “Anyone who takes care of a little child like this is caring for me! And whoever cares for me is caring for God who sent me. Your care for others is the measure of your greatness”

Matthew 25, 31-46

The Sheep and the Goats

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

As Christians whatever we do in love and in the name of Jesus for others we are doing unto Him. Jesus is talking about those that truly belong to Him and those who do not. What their actions or non actions where here on earth. I know we are not saved by works, but our works are evidence and a natural outcome of our salvation. What is Jesus saying about those that belong to Him? He is making it clear that we are to be servants to others that are less fortunate and that those that belong to Him will care for people that are have some type of need that needs to be met. True love takes personal sacrifice and it is an action not just a feeling.

Many times throughout the scriptures Jesus mentions the little ones “Children” and how important they are to Him. I believe that children are a great gift and one of our major responsibilities that the Lord has entrusted to us. Any Christian who has had children or a YF knows the personal sacrifices you have to make to keep them safe and take care of their needs. Their innocence and childhood needs to be protected which is a great challenge in the days that we live in.

So are we feeding, clothing, visiting, giving something to drink, inviting in, looking after sick, EST, What do we do with the resources that have been given to us? How much do we really love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how are we showing this love that we have for Him? In this scripture it shows us how we can show our love for Jesus by what we do for others. Are we doing it?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to learn how to love others and take the action that we need in order to show the love for them that You have put in our hearts. Give us the strength that we need to be obedient servants to do what is right for the children you put in our lives and to help those that are in need instead of being selfish with what we have. Thank You for all that you have done for and given us and for the sacrifice you made to bring us back to You through Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to make the sacrifices we need to in our own lives. In Jesus Name I pray AMEN.