“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40, NIV)
One of the key principles of golf etiquette is to “pay it backward.” This means we rake bunkers and replace divots for the people coming behind us. We won’t land in our own footprints later today, but someone else sure might, so we smooth them over. We do all of this for people we don’t know, invisible beneficiaries.
When Jesus spoke of the ways we can see and serve others, he noted that we too are caring for an individual beneficiary—and that beneficiary is Jesus himself.
In Matthew 25, Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. It is a daunting parable, because it concludes with Son of Man (who is Jesus) separating people eternally—the righteous to eternal life and the unrighteous to eternal punishment. The difference? Their service to him.
Those who serve Jesus demonstrate that he is truly in them.Now here is the harder part. The people in Jesus’ parable were unaware that they had or had not served him. “When did we interact with you?” they asked (or “When did we not?”).
Jesus’ reply was that he was behind every hungry, thirsty, and needy person that asked for help. He was behind every stranger needing a place to stay, every sick person needing care, and every prisoner needing a visit. “When you served them,” he said, “you served me. When you did not serve them, you overlooked me.” Here was the line of separation. Service to Jesus.
Now you may be thinking, as many have before you, I thought it was all about belief. I thought it was about Christ’s righteousness given to me, not my righteousness given to him. And the answer to your thoughts would be yes. But when we hold Jesus’ words alongside James’ words, capturing the full counsel of Scripture, we are reminded of this: We cannot be hearers of the word only, we must be doers. And this: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).
Those who serve Jesus demonstrate that he is truly in them. We do not do this to feel better about ourselves or as a matter of altruism. We do it because Jesus’ love compels us and Jesus’ love, seen in our service, flows from us.
—
Jeff Hopper
June 5, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Relating to God 1: Relationships
Relating to God 2: Those Who Believe
Relating to God 3: Those Who Love God
Relating to God 4: Those Who Honor God
Relating to God 5: Those Who Obey God
Relating to God 6: Those Who Sit With God
Relating to God 7: Those Who Cry Out
Relating to God 8: Those Who Praise God
Relating to God 10: Those Who Glorify God