Answering Isaiah (#160 of 365+)

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:… Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him…?” (Isaiah 58:6-7)


When Jesus Christ walked the earth he made it clear how he hated hypocrisy—the outward appearance of moral principles, religious beliefs, or a virtuous character that one doesn’t truly possess. The disciples probably tried to hold him back when he said this to the respected religious teachers of his day: “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27). What an insult! He didn’t show that measure of disdain for the worst of sinners—“honest” sinners whose outward lifestyles matched their sinful hearts. In fact, he never showed those people anything but compassion even as he told them their choices were wrong.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in” (Matthew 25:35)

It was clear from that passage when Jesus spoke of feeding, clothing, and sheltering those in need he wasn’t talking about simply going through the motions. He said to do it for his benefit as though the Lord himself was the homeless or needy person standing there in front of me. When I’m focused on the Lord I’m not trying to impress anyone or worried about disappointing others. My act of service becomes sincere worship from the heart—what’s outside matches what’s inside—and that’s something God will bless in due time.

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” (Isaiah 58:10-11)

Lord, as the old hymn says, “I owed a debt I couldn’t pay and you paid a debt you didn’t owe”... I’m so grateful that service isn’t a requirement for salvation but it’s a wonderful privilege for those who put their trust in you. May my daily offering, any acts of service or devotion, come from a heart that worships you alone. Amen.