The "Spiritual" Hunger Games Part 2

This is serious business, so as I dove deeper into this passage, this is what I discovered.  That for each physical representation there is a spiritual representation as well.

(v.35) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat

Each one of us as people are spiritually hungry, we are looking for our souls to be at peace and in Matthew 4:4 Jesus has the answer for that very problem.  “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to feed others by speaking the word of God to those who are spiritually hungry.

We all are looking for something that will fulfill that part of us that seems to never be satisfied; thirst. Once again Jesus has the answer in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  Then in John 7:37-39 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to supply drink; offer the everlasting water, relationship with Jesus to others.

(v.35) I was a stranger and you invited me in

Beyond physical hospitality is the spiritual meaning; evangelism.  When Jesus, as a representation of others, in this verse says that he was a stranger and we invited him in suggests that he wasn’t apart of the group that we are a part of; that is the body of Christ.  Evangelism is inviting others into the family of Christ.  Matthew 12:50 speaks of family, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 16:15 the will of God is clear, “Go into all the world and preach the good new to all creation.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to invite everyone around us, letting them know that they are welcome to come into the family of Christ.

(v. 36) I needed clothes and you clothed me

Just as equally important to have physical clothing for our bodies is to be spiritually clothed in mercy and to clothe others around us in mercy as well.  In Luke 6: 27-36, generosity is the vehicle to clothe others in mercy. ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to extend mercy through generosity to others around us.

(v. 36) I was sick and you looked after me

All of our souls are sick and need Jesus as our healer according to Mark 2:17 which states, ‘“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”’

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

Plain and simple, we need to care about the condition of one another’s hearts and our sin-struggles.  Much like a physician we need to lovingly tend to the aid of one another’s struggles offering Jesus as the cure.

 (v. 36) I was in prison and you came to visit me

We are all prisoners to sin until we allow Jesus to start working freedom.  In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quotes the book of Isaiah, ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We cannot reject others that have not come into relationship and freedom with Christ and live in a Christian bubble.  We need to reach out and love everyone around us.

So in the end, which group will you find yourself in?  Which group are you in now?  It’s not too late to make a change speaking the Word of God, offering relationship with Jesus, inviting everyone, extending mercy, reaching out in love.