JESUS STOPS BY

JESUS STOPS BY

 Ruth looked at the envelope again.  There was no stamp or postmark, only her name and address on the outside.  She read the letter one more time…

 Dear Ruth,

I will be in your neighborhood Saturday evening, and I’ll stop by for a visit.

Love Always,

Jesus

 Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table.  “Why would the Lord want to visit me?  I’m nobody special.  I don’t have anything at all to offer,” she thought.

 Then Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.  “Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer.  I’ll have to run to the store and buy something for dinner.”

 She reached for her purse and counted its contents.  All she had was seven dollars and forty cents.  “Well, at least I can get some bread and cold cuts” she thought.  And throwing on her coat, she went scurrying out of the door.

 After Ruth bought a loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey and a carton of milk, she was left with a grand total of twelve cents to last until Monday.  Nonetheless, she felt satisfied as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked carefully under her arm.

 “Hey lady, can you help us?”  Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans that she hadn’t noticed two figures huddled in the hallway.  It was a man and a woman, both dressed in little more than rags.

 “Look lady, I ain’t got no job and me and my wife been living on the street.  It’s cold and we’re awfully hungry, and well, if you could help us lady, we’d really appreciate it.”

 Ruth looked at them both.  They were dirty and unkempt, but she felt that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.  “Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself.  All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread.  I have an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving it to HIM.”

 “O.K. lady, we understand.  Thanks anyway.”  The man put his arm around his wife’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the street.

 As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.  She cried, “Wait!”  The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.  “Look, you can take this food.  I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.”  She handed her grocery bag to the man.

 “Thank you, lady!  Thank you very much!”  Shivering in the cold, the man’s wife chimed in, “Yes, thank you!”

 “You know, I’ve got another coat at home.  Here, please take this one.”  Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders.  Smiling she turned toward home – without her coat and with nothing at all to serve her special guest.  “Thank you, lady!  Thank you very much,” they called after her.

 Ruth was chilled to the bone by the time she reached her front door, and quite worried too.  The Lord was coming to visit and she had nothing to offer.  She fumbled through her purse for the door key.  As she did so, she noticed another envelope in her driveway.  “That’s odd,” she thought.  “The mailman doesn’t come twice in one day.”  She took the envelope inside and opened it.

 Dear Ruth,

It was so good to see you again.  Thank you for the lovely meal and the warm coat.

Love Always,

Jesus

 The winter night was bitter cold and Ruth had little to eat, but she hardly noticed it.

 Matthew 25:37-40

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.”

 Serve…

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!