WWJD?

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All 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. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"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. For 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, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"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.'

"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. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I 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.'

"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?'

"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.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Matthew 25:31-46

These verses have always made me uncomfortable. I never see anyone thirsty or hungry, other than my kids and I feed them. I gave a hungry neighbor kid from a tumultuous home breakfast once; that's the extend of my feeding the hungry (that, and I volunteered at a soup kitchen once.). As a comfy Westerner, what is there to do?

Though our world has expanded to include literally the whole world through internet, our Christian world view, in light of these verses, has stayed small. My neighbor hungry? Nope. He has two cars and a satellite dish on his house. The poorest American is rich by third world standards. In reading this book I was challenged to allow my Christian view to grow in the same way my social and physical view has: to include the world. I want to challenge you to ask yourself what I am now asking myself: what would Jesus do in my situation? What responsibilities do I have to the poor and outcast and diseased of the world?

Coincidentally, last week I rolled out of bed and this thought shot like lightening through my brain: I am so blessed. I stopped and looked at my newer highest-I've-ever-had thread count sheets, my two pillows, my comforter, the jammies I bought myself in Germany... Wow! I am blessed. Then my thoughts went to those around the world sleeping on floors or on the ground, even children, with no blankets or benefit of the simple convenience we take for granted: running water. I am blessed. And I have enough to give from my abundance. I could even give until it hurt, but whatever I gave is fairly easily replaceable.

If we are Christians- "followers of Christ"- then we must ask ourselves: what would Jesus do?

Some friends from our last base in Germany have acted on Christ's love in their hearts: they have adopted a little girl from China and will have her in their home by May. I was so blessed when I saw this, I cried. Little Sarah is a long-awaited answer to prayer for the Orahoods, but they are a long-awaited answer to prayer for those who seek to place children in homes with Christian parents. Because of them, her future is bright and she will know God.

To follow the progress of Sarah's entry into her new home, check in with the Orahood's blog.

I've requested a sponsorship packet from Children's HopeChest, and I was thinking it might be a fun to do a group sponsorship. Any thoughts?

I finished the book Red Letter: Living A Faith That Bleeds and I'd like to pass it on to anyone interested in reading it. If you'd like me to send it to you, leave a comment by Monday, March 24 and I'll draw a name.

If you choose to buy the book, you feed an orphan for a month. Here's how:



And as long as we're giving Tom a platform, let this encourage you:





posted by Reese