Feeding "Those People"

Feeding “Those People”

As we move into the American seasons of extreme excess – sometimes called “the holidays” – and with the prospect of our beginning a monthly community lunch for whomever will, it may do well to take a moment to think about why we would take the time, energy, and money to feed “those people.”  After all, these are people who are unlikely to boost the bottom line of the church budget.

There are at least three reasons we ought to feed people who are hungry:

First, in feeding people who are hungry, we show that we love others at least as much as we love ourselves.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He named two:  “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mark 12:31a, ESV).

The Heidelberg Catechism (one of those merely human documents we believe accurately summarizes the Scripture) provides an excellent summary of what “loving neighbor” entails, in its explanation of the eighth commandment:

Q. 110.  What doth God forbid in the eighth commandment?  A. God forbids not only those thefts and robberies which are punishable by the magistrate; by He comprehends under the name of theft all wicked tricks and devices whereby we design to appropriate to ourselves the goods which belong to our neighbor, whether it be by force, or unjust weights, ells, measures, fraudulent merchandise, false coins, usury, or by any other way forbidden by God, as also all covetousness, all abuse and waste of His gifts.

Q. 111.  But what doth God require in this commandment?  A. That I promote the advantage of my neighbor in every instance I can or may, and deal with him as I desire to be dealt with by others; further also that I faithfully labor, so that I may be able to relive the needy.

Second, in feeding people who are hungry, we show our love for Christ.

Jesus, speaking of the final judgment said, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40, ESV).

The greatest commandment is to love God with every part of our being.  Loving others, as explained above, includes doing everything we can to better others, especially in giving them the Gospel.  So, if we humbly feed people who are hungry, we exemplify our love for Christ.  (This holds true even if we understand the “brothers” of this text to be Christians, because the call to love others is universal.)  Our reason for feeding people who are hungry is that we love Jesus.

Third, in feeding people who are hungry, we engage in Jesus’ type of hospitality evangelism.

Especially in the Gospel of Luke, we see that the primary venue of Jesus’ evangelism was at the table.  Jesus sat and ate with people – spent time with them, got to know them, and told them Who He is – the Gospel. 

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV).

If we love Jesus, we will obey Him.  We will love God with everything we are and our neighbor at least as much as we love ourselves. 

            We make sure we are fed.  So we ought to make sure people who are hungry are fed.  And while we feed them, we ought to sit with them, find out who they are, and let them know that we are providing food for people who are hungry because we love Jesus, our Savior.