Royston First United Methodist Church

“Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.” – Deuteronomy 24:18

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING: Deuteronomy 23-24

How do we care for the poor among us? At the core of Wesley’s beliefs in theearly days of the Methodist movement was a concern for the poor and thestrangers among us. Wesley drew this conviction and inspiration for ministry with the poor from the earliest writings of the Old Testament, such as that which is found in Deuteronomy 24. As we read those words (specifically verses 17-22), we should ask ourselves, “How do I care for the poor among us?”

Several years ago, I felt convicted to do more to help those in homelessness. It’s a conviction that continues to eat at me because every time I encounter someone who is homeless, I feel that I have not done enough. What more can I do? What more can we do together? Deuteronomy 24 reminds us to care for those among us who are less fortunate, and we should do so without questioning his or her motives.

In Matthew 25, Jesus is teaching his disciples in the Mount of Olives. He explains in his teaching (using a parable) that there will come a day when we must account for our actions and answer the King about what the help we provided. Perhaps the most convicting line in the entire chapter is verse 40: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

May our hearts burst open with care for the marginalized among us and may God’s grace be fully present in all that we say and all that we do.

Have an amazing weekend and I look forward to being with you in worship at 8:45 and 11:00!

Grace and peace,
Matt

P.S. Don’t forget to adjust your clocks before bed on Saturday night. We will spring forward an hour. If you typically forget to change your clocks, go ahead and change them as you are reading this and live an hour into the future for thenext couple of days. Blessings!