And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
[it] unto me (Mt.25:40).
One of the most stirring and convicting scriptures I have ever encountered
is Matthew 25:40. Jesus' words, "as ye have done unto one of the least of these. .
.ye have done unto me," to be honest, are quite haunting words. They are the words
that it sometimes takes to shake me out of a numb complacency. They are the words it
sometimes takes to remind me how important it is to Christ how we treat other people.
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus is speaking concerning the treatment of others and how we
respond to their needs. It does not seem that He is speaking to us in regard only to the
others in our lives that are close to us, or those with whom we associate. When He says
"one of the least of these," it does not seem that He is limiting us to people
we work with, go to church with or live next-door to. In fact, you might agree that Jesus'
use of the words, "one of the least of these" does not exclude, but instead
includes every person with whom we have any form of contact.
What does He say about the "least of these"? He tells us that as we have done to
them we have done it to Jesus Himself. That's not the easiest thought to swallow. I guess
that would mean that if I treat someone poorly, it is as if I am doing it to Christ. So
every time I break a promise to someone, I am breaking a promise to Him. If I am grumpy,
and snap at my family--I am snapping at Him. If I talk about someone behind his or her
back, it is as though I am doing it to Him. If I pass a person by who is in need, it is as
though I have chosen to pass Jesus by.
It's much easier to detach people from God so that I can easily excuse my behavior toward
them. For if I can somehow rationalize, and make myself believe that another person
deserved how I acted toward them, then I can rest a little easier. But let my every word
and action toward another be as if toward Christ--somehow I quickly run out of reasons and
discover that my behavior is just plain wrong. An example that comes to mind is how I can
easily get agitated while driving. Just let someone cut me off or go to slow or some other
horrible crime against me, and watch out. They won't hear me through my rolled up windows
but chances are I'm giving them an ear full. That is a time that I know I need to hear
those haunting words, "Inasmuch as ye have done unto the least of these. . ."
There is an upside however, that is that even as we do good to someone else, it is also
unto Christ. Just as the thought of doing bad to Christ should motivate us away from doing
bad to another; the thought of doing good to Christ should motivate us to do good to
others. If we say we love Christ, then one of the best ways we can demonstrate that love
for Him is by loving others.
If I saw Jesus talking with a group of people on the street, what would my first impulse
be? Would I want to run to Him and be near Him? Would I be interested in hearing what He
has to say? Would I want to spend time with Him? Many of us would answer yes to those
questions. But put Jesus in someone else's body and what happens? How do we respond now?
If we were to run to Jesus and not to the someone else, then perhaps we are more of a fan
than a follower.
We run to Christ to find His love--we find His love to run to others.
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