June 15 – Encouragement – Treat Others Like the Lord

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 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; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to 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? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been 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; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25:31-46

In this lengthy passage Jesus encourages us to take care of our Christian brothers and sisters. Did you notice the phrase: one of these brothers of Mine? Even if they are strangers, they may be Christians—so care for them just as you would take care of Jesus’ own needs. This reminds me of a verse that talks about working…doing daily tasks or your job… Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men….Colossians 3:23. Whether it is visiting someone who is sick, taking food, providing clothing or working, we need to treat others like we would treat Jesus himself.

Imagine how it feels to be hungry and know that others have food they could give you—but they don’t. How discouraging. In His great Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught…In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12. This is known as the Golden Rule and was taught by Jewish rabbis even before Jesus time…and in many cultures today. It is truly a value by which to live. Is someone needing food, clothes, shelter, a listening ear, or a friendly smile? Give generously. Provide for others with a good attitude…not expecting anything in return and likely you’ll be blessed as in this verse in Luke…Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure -- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. Luke 6:38. 

Training Tip – Encourage your children to encourage others in the family, then friends, neighbors, classmates and even strangers, if you are with them. As they see you encouraging and caring for others, they will learn that is the right thing to do…and they’ll do it, too. 

Lord Jesus, just as Paul taught in 2 Timothy 2:24, help me, my children and my grandchildren to “be kind to everyone.” Open my eyes to see people as You see them and to treat them as I would treat You personally.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

© 2013 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.