** Make sure you read Matthew 25 Coming Alive Part 1 first **
One day I sat and got to look injustice straight in the face.
Right before my very eyes, these 3 poor gypsy children were treated poorly because of their social status in a setting, the church, where everyone should be received and loved.
In that very instance the Lord reminded me “Katie, these are MY children… MY beloved. Don’t you see them the way I do? They need & deserve love just like you. Who are you to judge?”
Wow, oh wow.
I cried.
I asked questions.
I continued to cry.
The Lord had convicted me and broke my heart for them in that very moment.
As I process all of this, the Lord kept whispering “Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me” which comes from Matthew 25:34- 40
[34]“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.
[35] 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.
[36] I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
[37] “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did I see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
[38] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in,
or needing clothes and clothe you? [39] When did we see you sick
or in prision and go to visit you?”
[40] “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.”
Following that day, every time I saw them Matthew 25 would come to mind & my attitude about them was different.
I began to see them with God’s eyes—as his beautiful children.
God’s calls them by name, not social status, and so I began to also.
They are Andrea, Flori, and Marian.
I was still aware of their presence, but I was no longer guarded in my actions.
I tried to show them God’s love as much as I could despite the language barriers.
And by the end of the month in Romania, they were my three favorite children.
Also….
One day we had an 'Ask The Lord' morning, which means that we prayed and asked the lord to reveal to us what he wanted us to do for ministry that morning.
As I prayed Andrea, Flori, & Marian came to mind along with Matthew 25.
I wasn’t the only one who had them come to mind, which we took as good confirmation that we were supposed to do something for them that morning.
At first we were just going to buy them shoes, but I still felt convicted that we needed to do more—to live out all of Matthew 25.
They were hungry, so we bought them food.
They were thirsty, so we bought them a drink.
The clothes they were wearing were dirty & didn’t fit them appropriate, so we bought them each a new outfit.
[They each got a bag of goodies]
[Opening their bags… so happy & excited]
God not only changed my heart, but he challenged me to not just read scripture but to live it out.
This day made me really think and question how often I am actually living out scripture and being the hands and feet of Jesus in this broken world.
And sadly, it's not as much as I should.
Thankfully I have God's grace for the times I fall short.
Here's my challenge (to myself) & YOU:
The bible is supposed to be living, breathing, and active… right?
GO LIVE IT OUT!
P.S. Don't forget that comments on my blog are equvilant to getting mail…
and I used to LOVE getting mail.
