Matthew 25:35-40 (NIV) – “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The Farmer’s Choice
There was a time, not too long ago, when the land was full of abundance. The farmers worked hard from sunup to sundown, planting and harvesting crops with care. But there came a year when the markets dried up. No one was buying, and the farmers were left with fields full of grain and no way to sell it. Some began to burn their crops in despair.
Then, the leaders of the nation came with a solution. “Don’t destroy the food,” they said. “We will buy it from you and give it to the hungry children in the cities.”
The farmers agreed, and for many years, their work became a blessing to the entire country. No child went to bed hungry, and the land thrived. In time, the farmers became so skilled that their harvests not only fed their own people but reached across the world, feeding nations in need.
But then, a change came. Some of the farmers started looking at the city folk, the distant lands, and the hungry mouths they had once fed with pride. “Why should we help them?” they grumbled. “They don’t understand our way of life. They don’t work the land like we do. Let them fend for themselves.”
Little by little, their hearts hardened. The leaders of the nation, hearing their complaints, said, “Very well. If you do not wish to share, we will no longer buy your crops.”
And so, the abundance turned to scarcity. Barns that were once full stood empty. The very people who had once saved others from hunger now found themselves struggling. The fields remained, the farmers still knew how to grow, but the blessing they had once been a part of had been lost.
One day, an old farmer sat on his porch, looking out at his empty fields. He shook his head and said, “We forgot something important. We weren’t just feeding strangers—we were doing the work of the Lord. And when we turned away from that, we turned away from the very thing that made us strong.”
And so, the choice remained: would they hold on to what they had with closed fists, or open their hands once more and become a blessing again?