THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 4, NUMBER 28, JULY 11, 2004

TESTING THE BRETHREN

            In one of the last great sermons that our Lord presented prior to His crucifixion, He taught the absolute need of His followers to be kind and benevolent.  He taught us to engage in what we today often call “personal work”.  The passage to which I am referring is found in Matthew 25:34-40.  Here is what it says,

            “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for  you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee?  Or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in?  Or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these may brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

            Visiting the sick, writing cards and letters to those who are shut-in, encouraging a weak brother or sister in Christ, providing food to one who needs it; all of these things are required by the Lord.  However, a faithful child of God engages in these things not just because they are commanded, but because such is part of having the “mind of Christ.”  Jesus came to serve, and for the true Christian, it becomes second nature.  We do these things because that is what we are.  We do these things because of love, which is what Christianity is all about.   If we fail to do these things, we will answer to the Lord.

            One of the truly vital elements of the love that is to characterize Christians is that it is reciprocal among us.  Let me give you an example.  If I am sick and none of my brethren call me or visit me, if I  have love, I will assume and believe that there is some good reason and think the very best of them.  After all, Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 13:7, that love “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”  Sickness should never be used as a time of “TESTING THE BRETHREN.”

            Do the brethren know that I am sick?  Have I in the past been one who visited and called others when they were ill?  Have I sent cards to encourage and uplift my fellow Christians?  Do I know what is happening in their homes and what might be preventing them from coming out to see me?  Is it possible that they might be ill, or enduring some difficulty that is keeping them from thinking of me right at the moment?  Is it possible that my brethren need my prayers on their behalf more than I need theirs?  If I am determined to use my sickness as a time for “TESTING THE BRETHREN”, am I willing to be tested the same way?  Would I pass the test?

            I remember Paul’s series of questions in Romans 2:21. He wrote, “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?  Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?”

            If I may be so bold, let me add, “Thou that complainest that brethren don’t visit you, dost thou visit?  Thou that sayest brethren don’t call, dost thou call?”

                                                Greg Litmer

ONLY A DAD

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

Edgar Guest