“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you too 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 25:35, 36.
Some years ago, one afternoon, I was parked outside this mart when suddenly this lady walked up to my car. She looked like she was seeking help. I rolled my window down and asked, “How can I help you?” She said, “Do you have any change? We ran out of gas and we need gas money.”
I didn’t ask more, I didn’t judge. I said, “If you go down half a mile there is a gas station. Come, meet me there and I’ll fill up gas for you.” I don’t know why I said that. I can be usually skeptical when it comes to things like this, doubting and questioning the person’s story. But for some reason, I was compelled to help this couple. Later I asked why she came to me. She said she asked for help from all the people she could find in the parking lot but everyone else had declined.
This wasn’t the first time. A few weeks before that, after church, a stranger texted me and told me he needed gas money. I called up and told him to meet me at a gas station. He had found my number by searching for churches online. I have a feeling I wasn’t the only pastor he had contacted.
I am not writing these stories to brag about what I did. It reminded me of Matthew 25 where the Son of Man separates the sheep from the goats. What was the measurement of separating? Was it based on how many verses you can memorize? Was it based on how many Bible doctrines you can teach? Was it based on how faithful you were in offerings? Was it based on how faithful you kept the Sabbath?
No. Surprisingly, it was defined by how much we helped other people. We need to know the Bible, but we need to practice what the Bible teaches us. We need to follow the examples of Jesus.