"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.'
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 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.' " (Matthew 25:30-45)
Jesus shared the above parable with his closest followers in the final days of his life (which he knew), so much like someone on their death bed we would assume his last messages were urgent and a high priority. Jen Hatmaker, (who is an INCREDIBLE author/blogger) says, "Jesus threw his weight behind those at the very bottom of the pile. Last will be first. Blessed are the poor. Proud will be leveled. His highest rank on behalf of the lowest class." She then continues to say, "This parable is an indictment on humanity's violent resistance to God's revelation of the dignity of every human life. In the last century alone, millions have been killed in the Middle East for the sake of homeland and nation. Six million Jews were systematically murdered during the horror of the Holocaust. Eleven million Hindus and Muslims were slaughtered at the dawn of the Indian independence. Twenty million were massacred in the purging of Communist China. Rawanda, Serbia, Darfur all sank under the tidal wave of genocide. Men, women, and children of every color, tribe, race and creed were bound, traded and killed upon birth, such was their disvalue. Away from the fields of war, unborn babies are destroyed in their mothers' wombs under the umbrella of preference. Seniors are cast aside in their twilight years, a burdeon on our amibitions. Our teens learn to kill with their words, repeating patterns they've learned from Hollywood and home. Our veterans sleep under bridges, forever damaged by trauma and neglect. The cycles of poverty churn out unparented children, who act out with violence and confusion."
I can't ignore this. Jesus' very words won't let me. But how does a white, middle class, stay at home mom of 2 do something about it? The first response is to pray. The second is to stay aware about what is going on in the world outside of my brick, cozy house. The third again is to pray. Then slowly, but surely, my hope is that He will reveal ways and open my eyes to ways I can be a part of His plan for redeeming the ugliest parts of our world.
I can't ignore this. Jesus' very words won't let me. But how does a white, middle class, stay at home mom of 2 do something about it? The first response is to pray. The second is to stay aware about what is going on in the world outside of my brick, cozy house. The third again is to pray. Then slowly, but surely, my hope is that He will reveal ways and open my eyes to ways I can be a part of His plan for redeeming the ugliest parts of our world.
