WEEKLY WORD: Give the blessings back

By Pastor Joe Low, Gospel Lighthouse Church, Floyd

I don’t know about you, but I am eternally grateful for Jesus Christ reaching into my messy life and placing me on solid ground. He has given so much for us. How can we ever repay him?

At times, we get this odd relationship with Jesus. It’s as if the God who saved us and met us where we were becomes so far and distant.

It’s as if we begin to pray to this far-out-of-reach being or force that seems so impersonal. How can this great God hear me? How can the God of the universe have time to be interested in my life?

These are thoughts and feelings we get sometimes when life seems to be spiraling out of control.

The phrase “personal relationship” isn’t found anywhere in the Bible, yet we hear it all the time. We hear it from books, friends, pulpits and many other sources. When we can talk to Jesus in a personal way, he becomes real to us.

If we need a friend, address him as friend. If we need a father, address him as father. He is so near and close. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit has made our heart and body his home. He is closer than we realize.

When we begin to understand this, we see just how blessed we truly are. We begin to be grateful for many things. Once this has been a realization, we should become a mirror and reflect our blessings and life back to God. How can we do that?

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” — Matthew 25:34-40

The way that we give back to God is to give our time, money, resources, gifts, a listening ear or advice to the ones who we think don’t deserve it, the ones who the world has already discounted and discarded. We gain by giving the blessings back.

We have to remember that Jesus was looked down upon by the leaders of his day because he spent time and resources with the “sinner” population. By doing this we are giving directly to Jesus.

Look around for a need and be the one who fills it. We will be blessed even more than we can imagine. Also, we won’t be so focused on our current drama and dilemma wondering where Jesus is. We will be so focused on mirroring Jesus to the lost that our own problems won’t seem so overwhelming and controlling.

No matter what we are “feeling,” Jesus is always right there to help us in our time of need, just like we should be doing with those around us.