Surprise Inside (Title is link to sermon)
Matthew 25:35-46 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, (36) naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.' (37) The righteous will then answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? (38) When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? (39) When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' (40) The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!' (41) "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! (42) I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; (43) I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.' (44) Then they will answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and we would not help you?' (45) The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.' (46) These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life."
We as Christians would like to convince ourselves that we are good and make the right decisions when it comes to the judgment of character. Amen?
The problem is that in so many cases, we find that there is a surprise inside. That surprise being what is inside that person or stranger.
There are many “Christians” that look like good Christians but have some HUGE skeletons hidden away.
Then on the other hand, that tattoo covered, body pierced, “goth looking” person has a heart full of compassion hidden inside of them!
We must treat strangers with love and attempt to learn what is inside, amen?
I read the following story on the internet years ago…
The family stopped for lunch in the City. The restaurant was nearly empty. They were nearly the only ones in the restaurant. There were a couple other families already eating when they entered.
The mother heard Erik, their one-year-old, squeal with glee. "Hithere," the two words he always thought were one.
"Hithere," and he pounded his fat baby hands—whack, whack, whack—on the high chair. His face was alive with excitement, his eyes were wide, gums bared in a toothless grin. He wriggled and giggled, and then the mother saw the source of his merriment.
The mother’s eyes could not take it in all at once. A tattered rag of a coat, obviously bought by someone else eons ago, dirty, greasy and worn; baggy pants; spindly body; toes that poked out of would-be shoes; a shirt that had ring-around-the-collar all over; and a face like none other—gums as bare as Erik’s.
"Hi there, baby. Hi there, big boy, I see ya, Buster." The mother and her husband exchanged a look that was a cross between "What do we do?" and "Poor devil."
Their meal came, and the banging and the noise continued. Now the old bum was shouting across the room, "Do you know patty cake? Atta boy. Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look! He knows peek-a-boo!"
Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hithere." Every call was echoed.
Nobody thought it was cute. The guy was a drunk and a disturbance. The mother was embarrassed. Her husband, Dennis, was humiliated. Even their six-year-old said, "Why is that old man talking so loud?"
Dennis went to pay the check, imploring his wife to get Erik and meet him in the parking lot.
"Lord, just let me get out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," and she bolted for the door. It soon was obvious that both the Lord and Erik had other plans.
As she drew closer to the man, she turned her back, walking to sidestep him and any air that he might be breathing. As she did so, Erik, all the while with his eyes riveted to his new best friend, leaned over her arm, reaching up with both arms in a baby’s pick-me-up position.
In a split second of balancing her baby and turning to counter his weight, Eric lunged from her arms and the bum caught him.
Suddenly a very old man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship.
Erik laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes closed, and you could see tears hover beneath the lashes. His aged hands, full of grime and pain and hard labor, gently, so gently, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back. The mother stood awestruck.
The old man rocked and cradled Eric in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on the young mother. He said in a firm, commanding voice, as tears rolled down his cheeks, "You take care of this baby."
He pried Eric from his chest, unwillingly, longingly, as though he was in pain. She held her arms open to receive her baby, and again the gentleman addressed her: "God bless you, Ma’am. I was praying to God before I came in here to receive something special for my Birthday. You’ve given me my Birthday gift."
She was crying when her husband got to the car, “what did he do?” she shook her head, “nothing.” Eric showed me the love that God has for us! “We are so bad….”
Yes, we tend to “judge” based on first impressions. Don’t we?
May you let you light shine today as you attempt to learn what is inside.
There just might be a surprise.
Be blessed.
Comments
Amen. This one always makes me cry.
:-)