Day 31 – March 25, 2010
The World Needs Jesus
“Today men and women are hungry for bread. They are lonely. They are unwanted. They are
neglected. They are sick in body, heart, mind, and soul.”
“We who believe in the gospel of Christ must have Christ’s social passion for all persons.”
(Prophetic Evangelist: The Living Legacy of Harry Denman, 1993)
I have been overwhelmed with the thought of people who may wake up one day (let’s say the day is
Sunday since so many churches choose to worship then), the person gets up and says to himself or
herself, “I would sure like to get on the right track. I would love to go to a place where people would
welcome me, a place where people wouldn’t look at me funny. I would like to go to a place where I could
hear about this man called Jesus. A place where I would not be judged by the way I look or by the way I
dress.”
I want to be that place!
I know a young man who in the past year took his own life. This young man had been in church as a child
on many occasions, and he had heard the Gospel and may have even made a profession of faith. He and
Jesus are the only ones who can know that for sure.
This young man had a look that would cause some to look at him and walk the other way. He had tattoos
and piercings, and he tended to wear clothing that made a bold statement about his life. This young man
was one who in reality was wearing his pain on the outside as much as he was living his pain on the
inside. At an early age, this young man lost his dad to suicide and for the next 22 years had to ask himself
why. He grew up in a world that wasn’t very understanding of the pain he felt and for the most part, no
one took the time to try and understand the pain in which he lived.
We have a responsibility to reach out to the people around us who do not look, dress, or smell like we do.
We live in a world that is riddled with pain and suffering, and in this country much of that pain is
emotional and not physical. Where do these folks go to find hope if not to us?
Look around you today; speak to that one you usually avoid. Take time to listen to who they are and what
they have to say. And if you don’t know anyone like that, find someone. It’s not very difficult; just go to
the local mall, to Wal Mart, or to any public setting, and you are sure to find her or him.
Matthew 25: 35-40 (NIV)
35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked
after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. 37Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and
go to visit you?” 40The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Who will go with me to welcome them into the Family of God?
Submitted by: Rev. Ronnie G Collins
