Is Christ really all we need? How many times I have heard it said by well meaning individuals, "Jesus is all you need." Now being well versed in "Christianese", (the language of church goers), I know what that statement means but what about the homeless man or woman on the street who has not eat today or has no where to get in out of the cold? What about the person that has lost everything in a house fire or a tornado? What about the distraught parent's standing at the graveside as the minister reads Scripture over the coffin of their child? What about the teen girl that everyone laughs at because she is different in size, color, or culture? How would they accept that statement from us? "Well, all you need is Jesus." No, He is not all they need; they need for His servants to help them.
Yes, I know that salvation is the most important thing one has need of but we also have need of food, clothing, shelter, and someone who really cares about us. Oh, I know, "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you," the Christian will say. Someone once said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We often associate that saying with teamwork. What if we applied it to the Kingdom of God? What do you think about this Scripture: And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh (Jude 1:22-23). What about that "Pulling them out of the fire" part? That kind of sounds like to me there is some work involved in having compassion. Saint James said, "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:15-17).
My point today is this; people do need Jesus but they need us too. Jesus not only died on the Cross that we may be saved, He also healed people, fed people, and showed them compassion without just telling them He had it. Lord, help us to do the same. Christ and us; the link that connects God to the rest of the world.
Yes, I know that salvation is the most important thing one has need of but we also have need of food, clothing, shelter, and someone who really cares about us. Oh, I know, "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you," the Christian will say. Someone once said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We often associate that saying with teamwork. What if we applied it to the Kingdom of God? What do you think about this Scripture: And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh (Jude 1:22-23). What about that "Pulling them out of the fire" part? That kind of sounds like to me there is some work involved in having compassion. Saint James said, "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:15-17).My point today is this; people do need Jesus but they need us too. Jesus not only died on the Cross that we may be saved, He also healed people, fed people, and showed them compassion without just telling them He had it. Lord, help us to do the same. Christ and us; the link that connects God to the rest of the world.
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