Ephesians 5:1 says, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;”. One way in which we can be followers of God is by having a great love for lost souls, a love that motivates us to reach out to them in visitation. Since God visited, so should we. When we visit we hopefully in the process also invite those, who are able, to attend the services of the church. Visiting is key to saving the lost, Matthew 28:18-20. These verses teach, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” We must do this if we want to follow the Father.
When I think of this subject, I think of the many ways in which God visited. Sometimes God visited people in the form of bringing on them punishment, but He also visited people to relieve them. God told Moses in Exodus 3:16-17, “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.” We see an example of God relieving His people.
In Ruth 1:6, we are told about Naomi, how that “. . . she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.” You see, God provides food unto us. He visits orphans, widows, and all in this way, and since He does this for us, we ought to do this for those who need it. God preserves us in visiting, because Job says to God in Job 10:12, “Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.”
God also visits His people to make them stronger, because Zechariah 10:3 says, “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.” Through the providence of God, He visits the sick by making them healthy. Paul says about Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:27, “For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” Let us do what we can to help the sick (Matthew 25:36). Jesus teaches that on the Judgment Day those who visited the sick along with fulfilling the other responsibilities of the Christian life will be rewarded with eternal life in Heaven for in visiting the sick, this was just as if they were visiting Him. He worded it this way, “I was sick, and ye visited me:”.
In sending His Son to die for us, God visited His people. Luke 7:16 says that after a miracle of raising the widow’s son from the dead by Jesus was performed, “And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.” Through having given us the Bible, which equips us for every good work, II Timothy 3:16-17, God has visited all of mankind, both the faithful and unfaithful in giving all of us the words of life.
Let us do all that we can to visit the lost to help save them. Let us visit the sick and widows to encourage them. Let us visit the faithful to help each other in faithfulness. Let us follow the Father!
-Jason Gann, TBC Online instructor
