The Least of These

Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was 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, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Here again we see that Jesus Himself describes the righteous as having been charitable and loving to their fellow man and woman. As followers of the Lord, we have been called to love one another and to give of our earthly possessions when someone has need. We are challenged to not store up earthly treasures, but to invest in our heavenly future.

Our worldly possessions cannot be taken with us beyond the grave, so we should put them to good use here. What are some ways we can help? Hosting a Bible study in your home if you feel so called. Feeding the hungry. Sheltering the homeless. Ministering to the sick. Providing clothing. Listening to someone’s problem and seeing if you can help. Walking someone to their car. Offering a hand to those unsteady on their feet. There are nearly unlimited ways that we can help others and show the love of Christ.

Do these little things actually show the love of Christ? They may not seem like much to you, but they can mean the world to someone else and open the door for a conversation about the love of Christ. If we understand that God has love for everyone He created and that everyone was made in His image, no matter how dirty and poor they are, then we ought to show kindness and love. Do not think that this has to be some huge monetary donation or giving away your home, it could be just a little thing that the Lord can use for His glory.

Remember there was a hungry crowd of 5,000 men not counting all the women and children and Jesus took the small gift of five barley loaves and two fish from a boy and used that food to feed everyone. The boy might have felt silly giving his food to Jesus when He had need of it because there were so many other people. We might feel silly helping a few people when there are millions in need. However, this small gift of the boy had a massive impact. People were not only filled with the food they needed, but they were left in awe of the Lord Jesus. This act of charity by a boy was used for the glory of God.

John 6:9 “‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?’”