“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?’” (Matt. 25:37)
Expanded Passage: Matthew 25:37-40
Edwin Markham wrote a wonderful poem about Conrad, a cobbler who quietly made shoes and sold them to his fellow villagers. It was near Christmas when two neighbors paid him a visit, and he told them about his dream.
He said the Lord had appeared to him as he slept and promised he would visit him that very day as an honored guest. Indeed, his neighbors observed he had been busy, washing, polishing, and decorating his shop with fir branches and holly.
While the cobbler waited, a beggar came by, drenched by the driving rain. Conrad welcomed him and gave him some shoes for his bare and bruised feet.
Later, an old woman came by with a load of firewood on her back. He gave her some bread and adjusted her load before she went on her way.
Still later, a lost child wandered into his shop. Conrad gave the child some milk and helped him find his mother.
As sunset came and Conrad did not see the Lord, he prayed, “Why is it, Lord, that your feet delay? Did you forget that this was the day?”
The Lord answered: “Three times I came to your friendly door; three times my shadow was on your floor. For I was the beggar with bruised feet; I was the woman you gave to eat; I was the child on the homeless street.”
Be on the lookout today for God to cross your pathway.
Ron McClung is a retired minister in The Wesleyan Church. He and his wife, Carol, live in Michigan and have two sons, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
