Daily Devotions
You must show compassion
“You did not do it to Me.”
Mt 25:45 NKJV
Every act of kindness you show to someone in need, as well as every time you turn a blind eye, you’ll account for when you stand at the judgment (See 2Co 5:10). Jesus will recount them one by one—one deed done to improve the lot of another person, even small ones. Indeed, everything Jesus mentioned seems small: “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Mt 25:35-36 NKJV). The early church father Chrysostom pointed out, “We do not hear ‘I was sick and you healed me,’ or ‘I was in prison and you liberated me.’” So that does away with the excuse, “How could I heal a sick person or liberate someone who’s enslaved?” Jesus said, “I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” These works of mercy are simple deeds, and yet in these simple deeds we serve Jesus. Astounding, this truth: We serve Christ by serving needy people. Some of them live in jungles you can’t find, and have names you can’t pronounce; others who play in cardboard slums, or sell sex on the street. Some of them brought their woes on themselves, and others inherited the mess from their parents. You can’t help all of them, but you can help some of them! And when you do, you serve Jesus. That’s what Jesus will talk to you about when you stand before Him one day.
