Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk HumblySample

Adrienne Smalley volunteered as a nurse onboard a Mercy Ships hospital ship. She wrote this beautiful blog about one of her patients:

“Tonight a woman told me she’d been an orphan, and now even her husband has abandoned her! She walked right into my heart! The woman received a free surgery to correct a childbirth injury. She brought her two-year-old son with her and he was fussing and crying. I picked up the unhappy toddler. Gradually his tears subsided, his little body relaxed, and he went to sleep.

As I tucked him into bed beside his mother, she smiled and silently applauded my success. When I turned to go, she grabbed my hand and whispered, ‘Thank you, Sister’.”

Jesus spoke of two sets of people in His teaching:  the sheep and the goats. The difference between the sheep and goats seemed to be what they did, how that acted and, particularly, their response to the poor and the needy.

God seems to have a special place in his heart for the “least of these” in the world’s eyes, who need our help most. Jesus tells his listeners that every time they help the “least of these” they are doing it for Him, the King! Every time we reach out to the hungry, sick, homeless or imprisoned, we are serving and loving Jesus.

Take some time to consider, who the “least of these” are in your church, your communities and our wider world. What should our response to them be?  The truth is, if we act in line with God’s love we can make a profound difference to the lives of others, and by loving them we can even serve Jesus himself. 

Call to action – How will you use your own time and talents to serve “the least of these”?  How should this direct your future plans and your daily living?  For inspiration, check out the Mercy Ships Church Pack. You can watch this introduction for inspiration: Make History – an introduction to Mercy Ships

If you've found this plan helpful, check out the other plans from Mercy Ships in this series, going deeper into what you've just covered: Act Justly; Love Mercy; and Walk Humbly.