At the final judgment when the Son of Man comes in his glory with his angels, he will sit on his glorious throne and judge the nations, separating them as it were, sheep from the goats, with some receiving eternal life and others eternal punishment. The final disposition of the judgment will be determined on how we treated the least of these; how we treated them, so did we treat him. This shows that the Church is the very presence of Christ in the world, showing the kindness and grace of our God to the world. As disciples of Jesus Christ and members of his body, we are charged with the duty to apply his kingdom ethic of doing justice and loving mercy. Each local congregation is an outpost of God’s Kingdom, called to demonstrate freedom, wholeness, and justice in its engagement with the world, responding in love, obeying the leading of its head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Care for the hungry, the stranger, the sick, these are not the purview of extra-super-holy Christians. Nor is it the work of special churches who are called to it. The world has a right to expect every church to embody the words of Christ in this matter. This has always been an essential mark of God’s people.

Fill your people Lord with your Holy Spirit and lead us to obey your Son.

It is to those who are poor that the gospel comes as especially good news. And care for the poor was to be a distinguishing mark of the holiness of the covenant community.

~ Uche Anizor and Hank Voss, Representing Christ. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016. p. 141.

Let God Arise! Seasonal Focus
Live as Ambassadors, John 13.12-20

Book Reading
Anizor and Voss, Representing Christ

Our Corporate Disciplines
Day Retreat: Friday, August 26, 2022