“Come,
you who are blessed by 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 welcomed
me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you
visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty
and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger
and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did
we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And
the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you,
as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,
you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:34-40 |
"The
gospel opens our eyes to the fact that all our wealth
(even wealth for which we worked hard) is ultimately
an unmerited gift from God. Therefore the person who
does not generously give away his or her wealth to others
is not merely lacking in compassion, but is unjust.
"Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves
power through weakness and service, and comes to wealth
through giving all away. Those who receive his salvation
are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit
they are weak and lost. We cannot look at the poor and
the oppressed and callously call them to pull themselves
out of their own difficulty. Jesus did not treat us
that way.”
— The Gospel
Coalition "Theological Vision for Ministry"
|
