Does your church have invisible people in attendance?
These are the people that are always overlooked and underestimated.
I am pretty sure that there are thousands of churches that are filled with Christians who have been labeled, overlooked, and hidden.
These are the ones who maybe don’t clean up as well as some of the more noticeable members.
Maybe it’s because they are not trying to be something. Maybe it’s because they know something we don’t.
If God has made you to be a certain way and also made you in His image, then why do we have such a difficult time when faced with someone who doesn’t fit their idea of a Christian?
I’ll be honest and say that I have been guilty of this in the past.
I have judged based on what I think a Christian should be. But the Bible is pretty clear about what it means to be a Christian.
Matthew 25:31-46 (The Message)
31-33“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
37-40“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
41-43“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
44“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’
45“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
46“Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”
Why is it that we look at some and see them worthy of our time, energy, love and then we completely overlook those we feel don’t deserve those very same things?
How can we, flawed as we are, think that we can clearly see anything?
When we decide someone’s worth aren’t we putting ourselves in the position of God?
Just because a person is patient or quiet shouldn’t give us the right to overlook them or take advantage of the fact that they are the ones practicing Christian behavior.
The old saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” should never be used in a church setting!
Take a look around and begin to see the invisible people, let your eyes be opened.
