As Matthew 25 draws to a close, the Savior teaches us to serve those around Him when He states, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” King Benjamin taught a similar principle in Mosiah 2:17: “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.”
The Lord knows that there is a time and a place for all things. As a mom of four small children, it can be difficult to actually seek out people to serve and comfort. However, I have found that many times, I don’t need to search – I come into contact with people who could use a little help frequently.
Some of these people I meet through my calling (and I have met them through various callings). Others I meet through visiting teaching. The third group – a smaller group, since I don’t go out a lot – are the strangers I run into in the course of a day.
Most of the time, I do my best to serve. I try to stay open to promptings from the Holy Spirit so that I can hear what He wants me to do. It may be something simple. For instance, a few years ago, while on the Enrichment Committee, I tried and failed to phone the leader. When I got through, I noted that she must have been on the phone a lot. Sadly, her brother had just died in a car accident, so she was trying to make arrangements to fly out west. Knowing that her head must be spinning, I loaded the kids into the car and picked up some dinner from KFC. This was a little thing, but it took one line off of her to do list, and meant she didn’t have to worry about feeding her kids.
We must make sure that we are attuned to the promptings of the Spirit. Sometimes, all that is needed is a kind word or a hug. Sometimes a prayer works. We visit taught a sister today, and her mother came over as we were about to leave. We had a closing prayer, and we finished, the nonmember mom said it was just what she needed. The words my companion spoke had touched her heart. This small gift had helped to uplift and comfort someone.
The Lord knows what we are and are not capable of. As we try to follow Him and ask for His help, we can become His hands on the earth. Only then will we be able to be more like Him.
For other blogs on this week’s Sunday School lesson, click on the Gospel Doctrine link at right.
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