Matthew 25 ChallengeSample

Matthew 25 Challenge: SLEEP by Marc Poree CHALLENGE: Sleep on the floor tonight. Matthew 25:31-46 has not only been foundational to my wife's and my call to ministry, but has also been incredibly challenging. In verse 35c Jesus identifies Himself with the stranger. “I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home.” This verse became real to us when our ministry moved us to live with an unreached tribe, as strangers and foreigners. On the day we arrived in this village we witnessed a public flogging; a man accused of stealing had been caught and he was now being severely beaten as he was marched out of the village. We felt incredibly lonely in that moment, we were strangers, but here was a man who depicted loneliness on a level I had never experienced before. He was among his own people yet treated as a stranger. That day I saw the lonely figure of Jesus among His people, carrying His cross. Crowds shouting, mocking, beating Him with sticks, treating Him as a stranger. These are dramatic memories but we are surrounded by people who live as strangers in our world, strangers because of race, language, status, shame and all the things that separate us from others. So many times I have been faced with a stranger at my door. So many times, I have become irritated as I am confronted by my selfishness or lack of compassion towards a nameless person asking for help. Often irritated simply because of the inconvenience of this person interrupting my schedule. As I recall these moments, embarrassed at my lack of empathy, I am reminded of the joy I have experienced on the occasions that the eyes of my heart were open to see not a nameless person but an image bearer of Christ. Today I invite you to consider Jesus words…”in as much as you take care of the stranger you take care of Me”. Your next step may not be inviting a stranger into your house to stay, but simply inviting a stranger into your heart. Into your space, into your friendship group or into your sports team. Who are the strangers in your life? * The shy socially awkward person at work or school? * The car guard at the supermarket? * The obnoxious manager who no one wants to be around? * The old lady who talks too much because she’s lonely. Jesus said, this is how you love Me, by the way you receive and love the stranger.