EXHORTATIONS (PART 7)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Romans 12:13

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you asked a respected Christian leader for a list of suggestions regarding righteous living, the kind of living God expects and favors, you might end up with a list of exhortations like we see at the end of Romans, chapter 12.

Over the past six messages, we have broken down these exhortations into bite-sized pieces and we’ll continue to do so for the next five devotions. I then hope to take a break from Romans to share some Advent-related messages on the run up to celebrating our Savior’s birth.

To sum up what we’ve covered so far, we have found the Apostle Paul sharing these tips on living properly as Christian believers:

We’re to devote ourselves to loving others with sincerity.

We’re to hate evil and cling to good by ensuring we are bound to Him in every way.

We’re to seek to live in harmony, not divided and opposed but together and at peace.

We’re not supposed to be self centered and self serving but rather people who seek to honor and respect others about ourselves.

We’re to live this Christian life with zeal and passion as we serve the Lord.

And we’re to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer, trusting the Lord to help us in times of challenge and difficulty.

Today, we see that our exhortation addresses how we are to help those in need. Paul writes:

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13

Look around your communities. Stay attuned to the happenings of your nation. Pay close attention to what’s happening in the world.

You’ll see that there is need everywhere.

This means that opportunities abound for us to carry out this urging from Paul to “share with the Lord’s people who are in need”. The Lord’s people means everyone and if you think about our world’s population, a population that currently is estimated to be 7.9 billion, there’s little doubt that there is at least one person in need of your help.

That person standing on the street corner with a cardboard sign stating their hunger needs you.

The people who are left in the aftermath of a natural disaster, losing their homes and all their belongings needs you.

The family starving in a famine stricken land abroad needs you.

And the Lord needs you to be His hands and feet to assist any or all of these and a multitude of other needs.

In fact, Jesus had this to say as He addressed the matter of helping others:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and 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.’”

“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.’”

“Then 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 also 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, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

Who were the people identified as being in need?

Jesus highlights the hungry, the thirsty, those in need of hospitality, those without clothing, the sick, and the incarcerated, and we should note how He will hold us accountable for the way we respond to the needy. Addressing needs is rewarded while ignoring those needs brings judgment.

With this, the choice shouldn’t be hard in regard to which option you should pick. As Christians, we need to take Paul’s exhortation seriously, helping the disadvantaged by doing whatever we can with our time, talent, and treasure to make a difference.

The needs are all around us. It’s time to address them with what the Lord has provided.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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