Yesterday we saw Jesus saying the way we treat a hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, or imprisoned person says something about our desire to join his kingdom.  What is the consequence of this story?

The story makes it clear that Jesus’ kingdom is based on generous sacrifice.  Our motivation for compassion and care is not to be someone else noticing, or that we’ll get thanked, paid back or will otherwise benefit.  It’s not even entirely about the other person’s benefit.

It’s simply the right thing to do, and it’s the overflow of a relationship with God in Jesus.

The deck-building neighbour I described on Monday was also married to a great neighbour.  She was a nurse, and one day she came over to check on my wife, who’d fallen asleep laying on the grass resting from gardening.  This was part of that nurse’s vocation, it’s not just a job to help people in need, it’s actually part of who she is, and what she is called to do.

Christians have the same kind of vocation to love our neighbours, with friendship, words, and also our actions not because there’s something in it for us, but because it is who we are as citizens of the kingdom of God.

Sometimes this isn’t as easy as checking on a friendly neighbour – not everyone finds visiting prisoners easy, it can be scary.  Serving the thirsty can mean travelling places we’d rather not see.  Helping those with no clothes can be awkward!

But this is how Jesus challenges us to dispay kingdomliness.  He calls us to overcome our fears, prejudices, anxiety  for the sake of his kingdom and its values.

Q: List the six needs Jesus wants his followers to meet:

  • The hungry
  • The thirsty
  • The stranger
  • The naked
  • The sick
  • The imprisoned.

Who do you naturally have the most compassion for?  Who do you find most challenging to show compassion for?  Why?

Remember, we meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto.  Maybe we’ll see you there?

Ryan Sim - June 13, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - Needs

We are encouraged to prayer persistently and confidently for alignment with God’s will. Persistent Jesus spoke about prayer this week in the present, not past tense. It sounds like prayer is meant to continue, not simply be a one time event. This is not because God needs convincing, controlling, bribing. It’s to help us learn to adjust ourselves to God’s timing. Confident We are not to pray as people distant from God, but out of relationship with a loving parent, where we are learning to know and trust his will. Reliant on God’s will The best prayers end with “Thy will be done.” When our prayers line up with God’s will, they are working as intended. We could illustrate this with a compass. A compass works best when it’s allowed to swing freely and line up with Earth’s magnetic field. We can prevent this by holding the compass needle backwards, but it takes energy, and when we let go, we see it was all in vain as the compass needle returns to neutral. When our prayers don’t line up with God’s will, they are fighting an irresistable force, but our prayers are best when we tell God what we want and need, but are willing to let go and let him lead us. Prayer is about learning to point toward God’s will, rather than forcing him to point our way. Challenge: Think of and share an area in your life where you are being called to persistent, and confident prayer for God’s will? Ask a friend to pray with you. And tomorrow we’ll practice again. 

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From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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