Persons of the Year

I wrote the following for our church, and would like to share it here as well:

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

- Jesus, Matthew 25:34-36, 40


Each year, Time Magazine awards its journalistic limelight to an influential individual who is named the “Person of the Year.” This year, the limelight was granted to three people: rock megastar Bono and multimillionaires Bill and Melinda Gates. The three were honored as “Persons of the Year” for their partnership in battling global health concerns such as AIDS in Africa.

“The whole world loves a lover,” the saying goes. It is certainly true that the whole world longs for those who love others, those who rise even a little above the selfishness inherent in a consumer’s world.

Jesus did exactly this, exchanging his privileges for poverty. He did not donate dollars, but something more. He gave himself—entering the skin of the poor and displaced, teaching, healing, and sacrificing his own blood. Through this gift, he made the greatest gift, eternal life, possible to all who believe. And Jesus calls his followers—his family—to imitate his “philanthropy.”

This year, let’s combine our faith with our works and be the “persons of the year” God calls us to be. If done in sincerity, we will not be concerned for recognition—only for the joy of serving the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for us.