Mother Teresa had a cross hanging, front and center, in her Home for the Dying in Calcutta, India (Kalighat is the missionary home's name). Kay Warren, an author who has recently shook my world through her honest and forthright book Dangerous Surrender, has been to Kalighat and ministered to the ill in its quarters. Hanging above the cross there is a small plaque which reads "I thirst."
"I thirst."
A powerful, simple, and deeply profound message to the Christ follower caring for the dying.
A short excerpt from Kay Warren's challenging book Dangerous Surrender:
"In the exodus God was with the Israelites, his presence represented by the pillar of fire and the cloud that led them through the wilderness at Sinai. But when the time was right, God came to Earth in human form to be present with us. He sent Jesus to be with us in a whole new way. Jesus laughed at the antics of children, wept at the tomb of a cherished friend, bent to touch a leprous man, gently disciplined an outcast woman, and offered his life's blood for our sins. God with "skin" on him made truth personal and intimate. Now we believe it when Jesus says that God loves us. Jesus' life was an explanation of God. For us as Christ-followers, this is our prime task as well---to make an invisible God visible to a world that doesn't yet reconize him. We have the opportunity to be with another person in their need, thus "explaining" God. We are to live incarnation ally---God with us, God in us. To do so is at the heart of living our faith. Once I understood this simple but profound concept of "presence," I began to appreciate that every interaction with another person is a chance to treat people the way Jesus treated them. It's an opportunity to make the invisible God visible." (p.138-139)
Giving water to someone thirsty is giving water to Jesus.
He tells us this in Matthew 25:35-36:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’"
The picture of the cross with the two words "I thirst" hung above it strike a chord in me that I can't escape. It reveals a heart that is in line with the heart of Jesus as he hung on that cross.
The call to a heart full of faith: radically loving others in need to the glory of God.
The bottom line...Mother Teresa's eyes were on others and not herself. She isn't any different from you and me. Christ Jesus has the same call to us as he did to her. He was Mother Teresa's example and he is our example. Jesus was constantly "about" the needs of others...The blind and needy beggar (Luke 18:35-43), the sick paralytic (Mark 2:1-5), the outcast leper (Matthew 8:1-3), the destitute widow (Mark 12:41-43), the sinful, maybe/likely commercial sex worker (Luke 7:36-50), the Samaritan woman who was despised by the Jews because she was different in ethnicity and personally, on top of that, she had a laundry list of bad decisions hiding in her closet (John 4:7-26), the despised tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13). Jesus loved others, bottom line. He loved them sacrificially. He loved them wholly.
He does the same to you. He does the same to me.
Can love exist without sacrifice? Not true love.
Love has to sacrifice.
James 1:22-24 says "Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like." (MSG)
My husband, William, and I used to wrestle with this faith/works conversation so much. We are saved "by grace alone through faith alone" (Eph 2:8-10). It is true and complete to say this. We are saved by grace (a gift) alone through faith (trusting Christ's finished work on the cross on our behalf) ALONE! This is our salvation.
From that salvation, flows beautiful works....if the salvation is real. It's an organic byproduct that proves the genuineness of the faith. We don't give water to the thirsty to be saved. We give water to the thirsty because we are saved!
From thanksgiving flow our good works! It's stunning!
I fear for us christian Americans, myself included. We cherish, value, applaud and exalt all things independence. It's the land of the free and the home of the brave! And it truly is a blessing to live here and have the opportunities we have, but I fear for the state of believers souls in a culture that worships independence and self sufficiency the way that we do.
Missions in the US is one of the hardest things to do. Why? Because everyone's physical needs are met all the time!
Meetings physical needs lends a natural ear for spiritual conversation. We see it with Jesus and his interactions in the gospels time and time again.
When we give a cup of water, we quench Jesus' thirst. When Jesus unjustly perished on the cross where I should have justly perished, he met my spiritual need.
So what do I do? I work from home and my fridge is stocked and I live in a nice area of town and I don't see a lot of needs around me. These have been our same questions! I'm going to make a list of some things our family has started doing to position ourselves to be Jesus' hands and feet to our hurting world (see below).
I'm still astounded and humbled that he has chosen us, redeemed sinners, to be the vehicle to carry out his mission of salvation to the world...what a call we have!
To lean into the "thirst of others" to the glory of God will bless us in return. God's plan is perfect both for the hurting and for the lover.
Together, let's love other's to his glory.
Ideas to position yourself to lean into the thirst of others:
Buy take-out plates (link below) and spend the afternoon in the kitchen filling them up! Chicken tenders and spaghetti plates with fruit or a veggie and a roll are ideas we've tried! It's a fun activity with kiddos, and then ride out with your hubby or a friend and deliver them to those begging (sometimes my husband likes to make the delivery by himself because men open up to him more when they have that one-on-one time). Pray as a family beforehand and when you make the delivery stop and ask the person their story. Try to sit if can and stay for a bit. Be a good listener (even if there is mental illness and the conversation is incoherent), get to know the person a bit, and make them feel seen. Ask to pray with them and share Jesus with them. Offer to give them a ride to the homeless shelter (if appropriate). Amazon link to disposable plates: https://www.amazon.com/Compostable-Containers-3-Compartment-Eco-Friendly-Biodegradable/dp/B07XV8KDKD/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1RE3MHGSZSISK&keywords=take%2Bout%2Bfood%2Bcontainers%2Bdisposable&qid=1674825102&sprefix=take%2Bout%2Bfood%2Bcon%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-4&th=1
Pray alone or with your spouse in the morning that God would put someone in your path that day that has a need you can meet. Ask the Lord for eyes to see the need when it comes and the selflessness to meet it. One morning recently when my husband prayed this, a car broke down just up the rode from us in the dark and he was able to go give him a jump start - it was a direct answer to this prayer!
Compassion International is an amazing non profit for orphan prevention. It's a sponsorship program for $40/month with a child living in poverty whose parents can't meet their food/clothing/schooling needs. Sponsor a child and form a pen pal relationship with that child! This is a great way for your child to get involved too. Pray for that child and encourage him/her towards Christ. Link to Compassion: https://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/?referer=630527&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SEM_Google_BR_Sponsor_High-Volume_General_Desktop_CI&utm_term=compassion%20international&utm_id=go_cmp-15416753223_adg-131781083753_ad-565387875488_kwd-59558151_dev-c_ext-_prd-_sig-Cj0KCQiAic6eBhCoARIsANlox85-fM9Z5_MQnS0zvnjru16YX3BHWz8mq-zLytcuJQTz1FDF4GEfZUMaApk-EALw_wcB&kpid=go_cmp-15416753223_adg-131781083753_ad-565387875488_kwd-59558151_dev-c_ext-_prd-_sig-Cj0KCQiAic6eBhCoARIsANlox85-fM9Z5_MQnS0zvnjru16YX3BHWz8mq-zLytcuJQTz1FDF4GEfZUMaApk-EALw_wcB&gclid=Cj0KCQiAic6eBhCoARIsANlox85-fM9Z5_MQnS0zvnjru16YX3BHWz8mq-zLytcuJQTz1FDF4GEfZUMaApk-EALw_wcB
Get involved with a christian non-profit that has a cause that is close to your heart! God has given us passions for a reason! Use them for the good of the needy and the glory of God! My husband and I are closely tried to The Agape Village Foundation, an orphanage and school in the bush of Zambia! Orphan care makes our hearts beat faster! There is a tab on this website if you'd like to learn more. Agape is run with so much integrity and love! There is a myriad of ways to serve these children. Get creative and ask the Lord for ideas!
"Love baskets" kept in your car to hand out to beggars at stoplight or intersection! We like to go to the Dollar Store and fill them up with snacks, waters, sunscreen, tissues, toothpaste/brush, and so on. Have them in the car where you can reach it from the drivers seat and then tell the person that you are giving them this basket because Jesus loves them. Ask their name and how you can be praying for them! I like to give them the telephone number of The Durham Rescue Mission (our local homeless shelter that helps them get their GED or other certifications and jobs to get back on their feet!). You could even include that in the basket with a hand written note of encouragement.
Maybe God wants you to move to a needy/run-down area so that you can have deep and regular relationships with more needy neighbors? Are we open to this if this is what he has for us?
Do you have a talent like playing the guitar or harp or harmonica? Consider visiting the hospital or a nursing home and make visits to the lonely and share your gift with them! Ask them their stories and ask to pray with them and try to visit again! I have not done this (and am not a musician!) but very much want to try to make this a regular part of my week! I like to make beaded jewelry so I could make a bracelet!
Comment below if you or your family has ideas you regularly do or ideas you have in your heart but haven't done yet "to give a glass of water" to the thirsty. We can encourage one another in our love for one another to the glory of God!
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