It’s happened again. And it should never happen.
A husband died. The widow waited. And no one. I repeat No One from the church came to visit.
Why? Oh, we can think of all kinds of reasons—excuses—but rarely do those reasons add up.
In just this last year, at three different churches (should you be prone to criticize one congregation) one person became bed-bound, one person housebound, one person extremely sick, and two husbands died. And in each case--no one from the church came to visit. One pastor did visit, another texted, but as for the body of Christ—not a one.
And every one of these individuals was involved in their church, one of the deceased a church board member.
I have determined that a lot of people go to church, but very few are the church, because God’s commands are crystal clear.
James 1:27—“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Matthew 25:36, 40, 41-43 — “ . . . I was sick and you looked after me . . .‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’. . . Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I . . .I was sick and you did not look after me.”
There is a lot of focus on prayer and praying right now, and well there should be. Our number one priority is to have a right relationship with God and to be in communion with Him. Jesus said this, when he said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
But the second follows right on its heels. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
James 2:16 states “If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
Then again in James 2:18—“But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
Yes, we might be busy. Yes, we might not know what to say. Yes, we might feel awkward, and yes, we need to pray. But we also need to DO something.
Matthew West’s song “Do Something” says it so well.
A husband died. The widow waited. And no one. I repeat No One from the church came to visit.
Why? Oh, we can think of all kinds of reasons—excuses—but rarely do those reasons add up.
In just this last year, at three different churches (should you be prone to criticize one congregation) one person became bed-bound, one person housebound, one person extremely sick, and two husbands died. And in each case--no one from the church came to visit. One pastor did visit, another texted, but as for the body of Christ—not a one.
And every one of these individuals was involved in their church, one of the deceased a church board member.
I have determined that a lot of people go to church, but very few are the church, because God’s commands are crystal clear.
James 1:27—“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Matthew 25:36, 40, 41-43 — “ . . . I was sick and you looked after me . . .‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’. . . Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I . . .I was sick and you did not look after me.”
There is a lot of focus on prayer and praying right now, and well there should be. Our number one priority is to have a right relationship with God and to be in communion with Him. Jesus said this, when he said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
But the second follows right on its heels. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
James 2:16 states “If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
Then again in James 2:18—“But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
Yes, we might be busy. Yes, we might not know what to say. Yes, we might feel awkward, and yes, we need to pray. But we also need to DO something.
Matthew West’s song “Do Something” says it so well.
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