"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 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, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:35-40
In today's world it's so easy to get caught up in the materialistic society. To get so caught up in yourself, your family and your own wants, needs and desires that you forget to notice those around you, those who are hurting and in need. We walk right by them & without a second thought. Instead of showing God's love to others we are more concerned with our own selfish wants and desires.
Yesterday I made a quick trip to Walmart to grab a couple ingredients that I needed for my brother's birthday cake. It was a simple trip I ran in got everything I needed & was on my way. My plan was to hurry and get back home as fast as I could so I had time to finish baking the cake. (God had other plans). It started as I walked out of the store there was a guy standing there from an organization that helped women who were abused after seeing the two people in front of me completely ignore him and walk by I felt bad so I stopped to listen and rummaged through my wallet and found a dollar to stick in the jar. He thanked me profusely and I walked away to my car thinking what a nice person I was haha :P
Then I got in my car and as I was leaving the parking lot the light was red, I looked around and saw a lady and a small boy sitting on the grass and she had a sign next to them "Single mom, in need of some help God bless!" I thought maybe I'll give her some of my spare change, but then the light turned green, as I drove off I had a nagging feeling in my heart that God really wanted me to go help the lady out, but I argued in my head about how I was on a time crunch and how I had to have the cake done before my brother came home, how I needed to save money since I'm going back to school in a few weeks etc. etc. but even with all the excuses I was coming up with I still felt God telling me to go back, that she needed help and more than that hope. So I turned around and I sat in the McDonald's parking lot, realizing I had no cash I was trying to figure out what I should give them so I thought I'll just get them some food from McDonald's but I didn't know what type of food to get them, so instead I went back to Walmart, ran in and grabbed a Walmart giftcard, & God even blessed me the lady in front of me in line had a cart full of groceries and she told me to go in front of her since all I had was one thing, God's great like that.
Anyways, after I grabbed the card I drove over to them & I decided to park the car and go up and talk to them I figured I might was well make it personal, when I walked over there I looked at her and I could see the desperation in her eyes, I said that I wanted to give her this giftcard the little boy eagerly snatched it out of my hand and stared at it with a big smile. The mom burst into tears, I said some compassionate words and she thanked me over and over and I almost left with that, but the Holy Spirit kept nudging me and before I walked away I asked her if I could pray for them, so right there in the grass with 2 complete strangers I prayed for them for protection and help and most importantly that they would learn how much God loved and cared for them. As I walked away to leave she looked at me and said "thank you for giving me hope."
That right there was worth the extra 15min, to be able to bless and help someone in desperate need and show them God's love. Seeing their gratitude and the smiles on their faces blessed me so much. They may think that I helped them, but really today they reminded me how amazing it is to give to others. I re-learned how to show God's love to those around me in practical ways, instead of being selfish and only thinking about myself.
Too often I think about my needs, how I'm a poor college student, my loans, gas, textbooks, etc. instead of realizing how amazingly blessed I am! God has given me way more then most people and yet everyday I take it for granted, I take the fact that I have a family, a nice house, a car, a job, the ability to go to school, a laptop, phone and all my other blessings for granted. God has blessed me so much so I want to be a blessing to others and show them his deep amazing, unending love!
"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" 2 corinthians 9:7
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