Wednesday, 11/28/18 – Pressing on…

Overseeing vs Overlooking

Oversee – to keep watch over, survey, observe, make sure a task is done correctly.
Overlook – to fail to notice or consider something or someone.

Toward the end of His earthly ministry Jesus told of a great separation of peoples of all nations that would occur “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32). On His right will be the blessed, on His left the cursed. A great determiner of this will be the treatment given to others in their need: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the one in need of clothing, the sick, the imprisoned. Did one oversee, or overlook?

On Sunday our pastor made reference to an experiment done by James MacDonald, senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. One Sunday Pastor MacDonald dressed himself in shabby clothing and sat down at the church entranceway to see how he would be treated. Check out the video here.

The above passage continues as our Lord explains “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matt. 25:40), and “…whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matt. 25:45).

What a shocker it must have been to many in his congregation as James MacDonald slowly revealed to them that the beggar they passed or paused to speak to was in fact he. What a shock it will be on that day of separation too when Jesus reveals that the one in need likewise was He, the King of all, the Almighty Himself.

What will Jesus say to you on that day – “Come, you who are blessed…” or “Depart from me, you who are cursed…”?

Those in need are all around us. Stop in at the Boyce Market on any Saturday morning, sit awhile at the east end off the food court in Kings Place mall, visit the tents set up in the laneway off Smythe Street near Woodstock Road, check out a few ATM lobbys in the middle of the night, look high in the crevices under our city bridges.

The Fredericton Homeless Shelter assists well over 400 individuals in need.

Check out Brittany Ranni’s recent blog where she writes of the needy in Los Angeles…

What is your responses when you encounter a person in need. You need not think money is all you might offer. Give them your time, your ear, your compassion and tears. “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you,” said Peter to the lame man he and John met one morning in front of their place of worship. Little did they realize that the one to whom they spoke was Our Lord.

Remember, Jesus too was a homeless man (Luke 9:58), and He may well be in disguise as the next homeless soul you meet. His greatest desire was to come as a Servant to a hurting humanity, and hurt with us. What is yours?

Press on…