Fields United Methodist Church

Pastor Tom’s Weekly Blog.                     “Did What?”                     Matthew 25:31-45

“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?”  Matthew 25:37

In a job search, it is always nice to know how we will be judged; the needed education, experience, and willingness to excel at the position desired.  Maybe a good way to determine whether a person is a good fit is to ask them what they are passionate about, what motivates them in life. So how does God judge us? Perhaps a few questions Jesus would ask are; why are you serving the needs of someone else? What is motivating you? What is your passion?  Maybe the prophet Micah summarized it best when asked of God’s expectations; “to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Notice this text says nothing about what we may get out of serving God, in fact it is quite the contrary; it is all about how others are served by our actions. When we are passionate to serve the needs of others without expectation for personal gain or accolades, our passion is motivated solely by the grace of Jesus Christ without regard for self. When we are passionate about serving, we do not serve because we know Jesus is in the heart of another but because it is who are as a follower of Christ. Faith is about living life, not for our own sake but for the sake of another; when we are passionate about Jesus, we are passionate to serve in order to witness the grace, hope, peace, and joy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You may never know when and how you have touched the life of someone else and it really does not matter because a life that is passionate for Christ and lives out the message of hope and is lived not for personal gain but for the gain of another.   I pray that there will be a day when we will all need to ask God, “when was it Lord, that I did all that for others…. when was it Lord?”   Thank you Jesus for your calling to us to serve in your name.

Rev. Tom Joyce, pastor

Fields United Methodist Church