I just want to be a sheep. Really, I do! Back in the day I even got to portray one in a Sunday school Christmas program. (Challenging for a method actor like me.) Before you get too concerned about my mental health, I’m not saying I want to walk on all fours and greet everyone with “baa, baa”. Instead I want to be a sheep in the spirit of Matthew 25:31-46 (you have my permission to stop here and go read it if you haven’t in a while). Jesus says this about His “sheep”: “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in….whatever you did for the least among you, you did for me.”
I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ “sheep” in the context of our theme for this school year “Christ-fit for Service” based on 1 Peter 4:10-11: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” As I wrote about last time our theme focus for August is on serving generously based on 2 Corinthians 9:11. I want to be the “sheep” Jesus is talking about in Matthew 25 because they don’t even realize they’re being generous to God. Instead they simply provide for the needs of those around them in thankfulness for what they have received. Too often my generosity is about how it makes me feel – not how it glorifies God. Let us all pray that we become “Christ-fit” to serve generously as our natural, instinctive response to God’s love.