Convicted by the Man with the Umbrella

Today found me standing miserably in pouring rain with a friend of mine, getting soaked to the bone while waiting for the bus that didn't show up. Seeing as neither of us were dressed for such an unfortunate circumstance (aside from my rain boots), we were freezing. Out of nowhere, a complete stranger walked up to us and offered us shelter under his umbrella. I was naturally suspicious, due to my past experiences with strange men at bus stops, but we gratefully accepted his generosity and he proceeded to make polite conversation, explaining how he "felt like a sucker, being a skinny dude with a big umbrella and seeing two poor girls getting cold and needing shelter". He behaved entirely honorably the whole time, and for the rest of the day, this incident has bothered me, and I know precisely why. Had I been in the same situation as that man, I would not have offered my umbrella to complete strangers. And, unlike this man, I have been charged by the Most High God to do far more than that for complete strangers. 

Matthew 25:35-40 ~ "'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; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’"

I know we have all heard this passage quoted until we have numbed ourselves to it. But think about it. What if we actually treated strangers like they were God??? Not in the sense that they have His authority, obviously, but what if we treated them as though they were as important? Here's a radical thought: what if we actually did on a daily basis what God has been telling us to do for thousands of years? And what if we didn't esteem ourselves as super spiritual after every time we did something little like that? What if we didn't do it because we wanted to get an opportunity to stuff Christianese down someone's throat and chalk up bonus Jesus points? What if we actually did it because we sought from God a real love for these people? It's time for me to step it up, and by "me", I mean let God actually have His way in my heart and not be selfish and so focused on myself that I don't notice the needs of these other people that God happens to love just as much as He loves me, even though I don't know them! He doesn't just love the people I already know and who are already in my life, so why do I act like it? Being shy and timid and having a hard time getting words out of my mouth is no excuse for not showing love to everyone. Moses had similar issues, and he had to talk to HOW many people??? Jeremiah was hesitant because he didn't feel adequate, but did God just say, "oh yeah! I forgot you're scared of people and you don't think your competent to do My work! Let Me go find someone else who's overconfident and perfect, so that they don't mess up My plan!" I know my God doesn't make mistakes and I know my God is stronger than my patheticness, and I will not pretend He's a liar just because I want to be selfish.