'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'
"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' Matthew 25:37-40
No figure in all of history encompasses the act of sacrificial love like Jesus Christ. The Son of God took on the weight of the world's sins. He showed compassion in the face of continuous hate and loathing. He did so because of his unimaginable love for humanity. We cannot call ourselves Christians without franticly pursuing the same unimaginable love.
We must show radical love to not just our friends and family but to total strangers and even the people we dislike. By doing so, Jesus makes us this promise. When we show compassion and love to others, we are showing it to him as well. When we show love to Jesus' children, we show love to him. When we begin to show compassion, kindness, and love to all the people around us, we join Jesus in his work.
The more loving we become, the more we become like him, and the further we travel away from our own selfish and misguided ways. There is perhaps no greater pathway to freeing us from ourselves than to love as he did.
Prayer: Jesus, help me to show compassion and kindness to others. Help me actively look for ways to influence others with positivity and love. Amen.