“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
How often on do you offer a drink of cold water to a stranger who comes to the door? We often have people selling books, meat, school coupons or their religion (Mormons or Jehovah Witness) come to our door and I always try to remember to offer them a bottle of cold water, especially on a hot day…or sometimes in the winter a hot cup of tea. I think of this scripture passage and what Jesus taught – to treat others as if they were Jesus Himself. In Jesus’ day cold water was probably not easy to obtain---did they even have ice except in the winter or when someone had climbed up to Mt. Hermon? Water is even more important than food. We can go days without food, but only hours without water. Offering water to others needs to become just second nature to us---not motive of gaining or losing a “reward”. To be compassionate as part of our character is to be admirable by others….and by God Himself. Do you do for others what you wish they would do for you?
Lord, help us to offer water to others---just as we would give some to you if you came to our door.
©
2011 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights
reserved.
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