The Christian who is pure and without fault, from God the Father’s point of view, is the one who takes care of orphans and widows, and who remains true to the Lord—not soiled and dirtied by his contacts with the world.

James 1:27 (TLB)

If the gospel you believe doesn’t make you hear the cries of the poor, needy and hungry, you might not be believing it right. Sadly, we have somehow made the gospel too cosy, too convenient, too comfortable. And because of it, we have made living a comfortable life as a Christian a spiritual right. So often, we want just "enough" of Jesus to save us (and perhaps help us continue living our entitled way of life)—but we don't want "enough" of Him to profoundly transform the way we live.

We need to be uncomfortable with how comfortable we are.

The gospel is simple and amazing, but it is also confronting. This is because it will challenge our first-world notion of the Christian life, whether our priority is to set our hearts on things above, not on earthly things here. Jesus once said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

Our Lord calls us to love all people, particularly the “least among us”. (Matthew 25:40) Being embraced by Perfect Love Himself essentially means joining His embrace of the broken, hurt and lost. This is what grace does. We are to comfort others in the same way that God has comforted us.

We can love and serve without fear or limits because we have tasted God’s grace and generosity. In other words, our life of service and love begins with God Himself. God will not want anything from you that He has not already given to you. There is a flow-on effect. Whatever we have received and whatever we own, we are to use them to glorify our Father in heaven.

We are called by Jesus to leave our comfort zones, to be open to the needs of others, and to bless those who cannot return the favour. By doing this, we actually follow His footsteps to go to places we have never been and do things we have never done before.