By
Allen White
Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and
anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet
as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous
person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if
anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my
disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward. Matthew 10:40-42
Have you noticed an
affinity among certain groups of people? How do smokers know each other even
when they’re not smoking? I’ve sat with smokers, who had not lit up, someone
would walk up to the table and ask the smoker for a cigarette. The fellow
smoker didn’t even consider me. How did they know?
I have a friend who
wears very long hair for a man, in my opinion. I was out with him and his wife
one day. As we passed another long haired man, they gave each other a knowing
nod. I asked if they knew each other. His wife to me, “It’s a long hair thing.”
There was a kinship, a fraternity. They had to band together to avoid the
scissors of our culture. They were brothers who looked a little like sisters in
my book.
Christ-followers
have a fraternity of their own. We’re all in this together. Have you ever
looked at someone and just knew they were a Christian? Not because they were
carrying a Bible or scowling in a judgmental way, but there was just something
about them.
Jesus said if
people accept believers, they also accept Him. And, if they accept Jesus, they
also accept the Father. How do they do this?
Jesus wasn’t just
speaking of those who proclaim the message of the Gospel, but those who
supported it. If someone helped a messenger of God’s Word, it was as good as if
that person were the messenger himself. If you helped a prophet or a righteous
person, you are entitled to the same reward they will receive. Even helping
another believer with something as simple as a cup of water was worthy of a
full reward.
If you have public
ministry gifts like speaking, singing, writing or leading, how have you
enlisted the help of others? How can they share the load and share in the
reward?
If you have less
public gifts like intercession, helps, serving or mercy, how can you support
those with more public gifts? Your work might not be obvious, but everyone’s
work together is powerful.
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