³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ 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, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

–Matthew 25.34-40 (NIV)

If you have read this blog with any regularity, you know that I have written often about bringing the love of Christ to bear on his broken and hurting world, about being his agents of New Creation to bring healing to the extent we are able. All well and good, you say. But do you know what this means? Could you recognize examples of it?

I have a good friend who has chosen to go to Joplin, MO. to help with the cleanup there. Joplin is “old news” and thus we don’t hear much about it anymore in the media. But the damage done by the devastating tornadoes that swept through that town this spring is massive and far from being cleaned up. So my friend, Mark, who is a high school principal in NW Ohio, has decided to do something about it. He is spending the week in Joplin to help with the cleanup.

He has sent email updates each day and I am going to post them here, along with the pictures he has taken. I didn’t ask Mark specifically why he chose to go to Joplin, but he is a Christian and I am sure that had something to do with his decision. Most likely, it had a lot to do with it. Whatever his motivation, Mark is indeed bringing the love of Christ to bear on his hurting people in Joplin. So if you want to know what new creation looks like or if you are wondering what bringing Christ’s love to others looks like, look no further.

Pray for Mark and all like him who are doing the Lord’s work and bringing Jesus’ love to bear on his people. Then ask yourself this question: What tangible things are you doing to show your love for Christ?

Via email:

Joplin day 1

July 5, 2011 6:05:39 PM EDT

Am sure that I won’t be able to show you the scale of the destruction…but after driving around upon arrival,  the path covered literally miles of both residential, commercial, as well as a High School.  Will head out for debris clean-up Wed morning….more then!