Who We Are
37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.' (Matthew 25:37-40)
Nature verses nurture is an old argument. Are we born good/evil, or do the circumstances of life cause us to become one or the other? Our creation stories in the book of Genesis tell us that God declared everything God created "good" and, in Acts 10, God admonished Peter not to call anything unclean that God had deemed clean. This seems to suggest that everyone and everything created by God is, at least at inception, clean and good. Yet we also know that we are all sinners who have fallen short of God's glorious intentions.
By God's grace, through faith in Jesus, we can be restored to the goodness God created. It's out of gratitude for this renewal that we worship God, serve others, and share God's grace. So, when Jesus spoke, as recounted in Matthew 25, about separating the righteous from the unrighteous, neither group had chosen to perform or not - both groups were operating from their heart. Actions of service - the works of faith - are not chores or a "to do" list to complete. These displays of love flow naturally from a grateful, humble, heart.
Rather than adding more tasks to our resolutions for the new year, perhaps we can be content in who we are - saved, healed, delivered people who seek the salvation, healing and deliverance of those God places in our path. No more is required, and no less is possible, when we are living out the love God has already shown us.
9 What gain have the workers from their toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. 11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
(Ecclesiastes 3:9-13)
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