The Least of These

The Sheep and the Goats
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

(Matthew 25:31-46)

We don't really like scriptures like this, do we? The ones that lay it out straight, with no debate necessary. As long as there's a way around it, there's hope for those who choose to ignore it. Ah, but not verses like these. It seems that Jesus isn't concerned with the fact that we may live in affluent neighborhoods, or hang only with those who own cars and wear the latest styles. It turns out that even those of us living in Western cultures will face judgment in the end, and the questions will include, "What did you do for the least of these?"

I feel quite sure there are ways to contribute to the lives of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the needy, even for those of us far removed from Third World countries. There are an abundance of ministries, and the least any of us can do is give money. The most we can give may be hours of prayer and fasting and trips to the mission field.

Consider today what you can do for the lost. May I suggest sponsoring a child through The Children's HopeChest, or committing to 5 For 50? These are small sacrifices by Western standards, but can make a huge difference in the life of an orphaned child.

God bless you.

~Reese