Day: August 10, 2010

The Bible informs us that the LORD visited Sarah at the appointed time as He had said He would (Genesis 21:1). The Psalmist questions as to who man is, that the God of the universe should be mindful of him and visit him? (Psalm 8:4). Luke 1:68,78 records that God visited the people as the Redeemer in the person of Jesus Christ, and when Jesus comes to the city of Jerusalem, he wept, because the people did not know of God’s visitation (Luke 19).

The point that is paramount is that even God visits His people, and we as imitators must do likewise. In fact, Jesus lets us know that when we stand before Him to give an account, we must be prepared to answer the question as to where we were when those that were sick and in prison wanted us (Matthew 25: 31-46).

As Christians, we need to visit not only those who are sick and in prison, but also our brethren in the ministry (Acts 15:36) and the fatherless and the widows (James 1:27). To those who are sick, we need to present Jesus as the Balm of Gilead, to those in prison, we need to affirm that only in Jesus is true freedom. Our brethren need to be encouraged in the Lord by our visitation and the fatherless needs to be affirmed of God the heavenly father of all. To the widow, Jesus the Bridegroom must be presented. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world (James 1:27).

Let it not be said of us that we did not visit the least of the brethren of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 25:31-46 (KJV)
³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
³⁴ 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:
³⁵ 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:
³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ⁴⁰And 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 my brethren, ye have done it unto me.⁴¹Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
⁴²For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
⁴³I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
⁴⁶And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

James 1:27 (KJV)
²⁷ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.