Improvement.

There are no shortage of resources dedicated to DIY, home improvement and self improvement on TV, webernets and printed materials.  Even items on the topic of relationships seem to be entirely self-focused.  It seems rather obvious as I reflect on it now, but our own obsessions with our own improvement needs are a means of ignoring the needs of others.  God has set aside time and resources for me to pour out on my neighbors and I have filled that time with projects and distractions.  (Even now this blog entry seems indulgent.)

 People are messy, with far more potential for disaster than any home improvement project.  A lingering plumbing issue with 18 trips back and forth to Home Depot is joyful in comparison to really investing in the lives of the people around you.  More than that, at it's worst my broken shower will be resolved one way or the other.  The broken people around me and even my own broken heart may not be completely resolved in this lifetime.

So why then shall we engage dear Christians?  "Jesus", seems like an oversimplified answer.  But as always, he is the right answer.  We can respond to the desire to do good that God has built within us.  We can do it in the name of societal improvement.  We can do it to gain favor with others.  However if we don't understand where this Love for others comes from, we will quickly run out of steam.  Our good intentions will become corrupted by bitterness and resentment.  After we have done everything right, followed every instruction and finally turn on the water, we will be showered with defeat.  Its not about the works, its about our hope and who we find hope.  We must invest in each other because we are working towards something, because we are responding to being loved ourselves.  Heaven is imprinted on our hearts.  We must not wait for it to be revealed, we must expose it to give the world a glimpse of our Saviors love for this world.  As broken of a project as this world seems, it is worth the effort and worthy of our Love because Jesus has made it so.

Matthew 25

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

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.’