With some people, it seems we have unlimited opportunity to serve them, while others pass in and out of our lives giving us precious little time to influence them for the Master. Concern for people, whether it be shown by visits, food, or spiritual needs, gives a powerful lift to the recipient as well as the cause of Christ. The apostle Paul, writing of the responsibility of Saints to sincerely care for others, penned, “…as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). He also taught the Ephesian brethren that they were “…His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Jesus taught much on the importance of doing good to others. Hear Him! “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food: I was thirsty and you gave Me drink: I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:34-36). The righteous will then ask the Lord when they had done these things. Jesus, the King, will reply, “…inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40). Those actively engaged in spiritual service will one day hear the following words of life: “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). If we fail to serve others in the name of Jesus, we will stand condemned. Hear the Master: “… inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous will go into everlasting life” (Matt. 25:45-46).
James, reminded brethren that “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). The above teaching calls for a strong faith, which moves learners to action.
The opportunity to determine where we will stand in the final hour is yet before us. If it is our desire to be in the company of God, Jesus and the redeemed, we must not grow weary in doing good, especially to the household of faith.