At times in the pursuit of knowledge, information, and academic achievements, even within the context of a Bible College or seminary, we lose sight of a most fundemental and profound truth - if our pursuit of these goals is not brining us closer to Jesus Christ then there is no reason to continue the pursuit. We can learn all the facts and information about Jesus and the Bible, but if the process of learning is not deepening our relationship with our Lord and our God we should re-prioritize our goals and make knowing and being like Him our desire.
One area that illustrates this aspect of Jesus is found in the scriptures in Matthew 25:34-45. In this passage of scripture Jesus clearly states how important it is to have compassion for others - but more than that - how important it is to be moved to action to meet the needs of others:
Matthew 25:34-45 (NIV)
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For 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, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “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. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
In our pastoral care ministry at CFM - we strive to use what we call a Biblically based caring model that uses the above scripture as a baseline. Bonnie Miller, author, nurse and former Director of Love in the Name of Christ of Harrison, in her 1991 book titled "Handbook for Caring People" stated the following:
"It is our responsibility to communicate to hurting people who Jesus is."
If we can effectively relate to people who Jesus is as they walk through the difficult seasons of their lives we will have provided a great blessing for them - for while our prayers, support, and encouragement are absolutely needed and we are directed by Jesus to provide them - pointing hurting people to Jesus will provide them with the supernatural resource that we all so deeply need.
Biblical knowledge and understanding is a tremendous thing and an endeavor I encourage all believers at CFM to pursue through their personal study or through CFM Discipleship, or through CFM Bible College - but first consider the question of is your study drawing you closer to Jesus and enabeling you to be more like Him? May God bless you as you study His Word. Pastor Pete
