Jesus’ heart is for the poor, the hungry, the lonely, the needy, the outcast, the orphan, the widow, the least of these. I think the Bible makes it clear that He wants His people to have that same heart. We often get caught up in building a kingdom for ourselves, while Jesus wants us to point the world to His kingdom by giving ourselves away for the least of these.
Have you ever read the eye-opening account of the final judgement that Jesus tells in Matthew 25? He says that when He comes in glory, He will separate all people into two groups. The sheep will be on His right and the goats will be on His left. To the sheep on His right, Jesus will tell them to come and inherit the kingdom because they were quick to meet His needs.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (Matthew 25:35-36)
Serving Jesus By Serving Others
The sheep immediately question Jesus, as they don’t remember doing those things to Him. “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” They had no clue what He was talking about, but then Jesus made it very clear what He meant.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40)
Think about that for a moment. Jesus told the sheep that when they served the needs of the least of these, it was like they were actually serving Jesus, Himself. When we lay ourselves down to serve and meet the needs of others, we are touching the very heart of God. He wants His people, His sheep, to have a selfless heart for the most needy. When feeding the hungry, we are also feeding Jesus. When welcoming the stranger, we are also welcoming Jesus.
Serving Jesus In Haiti
In our new partnership, we are serving Jesus by serving the beautiful country of Haiti. We have partnered with a Haitian pastor who oversees seven churches and three schools. 13forty4 is helping pay teacher salaries and other school costs for the three schools. This enables more children to go to school for free. Many Haitian families cannot afford to send their children to school, which leaves the children with no education and limited hope and vision for their futures.
Long term, we want to implement a meal program that would feed each student one nutritious meal every school day. This would be the only meal some of them received for the day, as 1 in 5 children are currently malnourished in Haiti. Malnourishment can cause disabilities, stunted growth, and very weak immune systems, which is extremely dangerous in impoverished areas. We want to serve these needs as if serving Jesus, Himself.
You can learn more about our work in Haiti on our Haiti page. Would you join us in praying for this country? Pray for God to continue to build His Church in Haiti and continue to bring the funds needed to help serve the beautiful people there. We don’t just want to put a band aide over certain issues. No, we want to impact Haiti long term by giving their children a chance to grow up healthy, strong, and educated, with a vision for impacting and changing their country for God’s glory.
Help Us In Haiti
If you want to partner with us in Haiti financially, you can do so below. It costs approximately $300 to send one student to school for the entire school year. This includes their tuition costs, uniform costs, and book costs. We have a goal of sending 100 children to school this year. You can give a one-time or a monthly gift to help meet this goal below. Thank you so much for your generosity. Let’s serve Haiti together as if we were actually serving Jesus, Himself.
2 thoughts on “Serving Jesus By Serving Others”
So blessed to read this and partner with your new vision and to support the people of Haiti like they were Jesus themselves! I will partner in prayer for this ministry and the people of Haiti that we would like to bless exponentially! Through God these possibilities become reality and through the humility and grace of God, our actions help steward His promises and possibilities into our present reality!
Amen, Marley! We are so blessed by your encouragement and support! Thank you so much for your partnership!