The Least of These
7/13/2022
Written By: Stephen Cox
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. 35 For 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, 36 I 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, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
God is Concerned for the Widow, the Orphan, and the Stranger Among Us. Widows are the husbandless and vulnerable. Widows in Biblical times had no viable means of support financially. They were not allowed to be educated, had not been trained in a trade or skill. So God set up guidelines for her care.
Orphans are the fatherless and vulnerable. Orphans were equally vulnerable in Biblical times as they could still be considered orphans even if their mother was still living (same reasons as a widow). And God is serious about their care as well.
The stranger is the homeless (a person without a country) & vulnerable. The stranger, or in some translations, the alien…or as we might know it today…the immigrant or refugee, depending on the circumstance was vulnerable because they were away from their homeland either by choice or force. God is pretty serious about their treatment as well.
The Christian response is pretty clear from Matthew’s account. What we DO can impact our eternity. Before I get letters or emails or phone calls…let me be PERFECTLY clear. GOOD WORKS CANNOT SAVE YOU. Only faith and trust alone in Jesus can save you. But if we are to read Matthew 25: 31-46 literally (which I do believe this is an accurate representation of the General Judgment on Judgment Day), it’s not going to be like the DMV where you draw a number… ‘OK…number 1,347,456,121…next…”.
Jesus is going to separate those who have done His will to the Least of These through meeting the needs of the vulnerable among us. If you met needs in Jesus’ name, this is what the Bible says: 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.’
If you did not meet the needs of the vulnerable in Jesus’ name, this is what the Bible says: 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.’
These are Jesus’ words…not mine. If you have a “Red Letter” edition of the Bible, those words are in red print. Jesus says, “If you ignore the Least of These, you are ignoring me. If you serve the Least of These you are serving me.” And the difference is eternal!
The question is “Am I willing to go where Jesus would have me to go?" Are you willing to be who Jesus would want you to be? Are you willing to do what Jesus would have you to do?
Here are a few practical ways to care for Widows/Widowers: rake leaves, help go grocery shopping, visit with him/her.
Also, here are a few ways to care for Orphans: give to CareNet or volunteer, have tough conversations about fostering children or adopting. These could be very COSTLY conversations (financially and emotionally) but they could have an eternal impact! We also need to pray for those who have already made those decisions and are going through the experience of caring for the fatherless.
And finally, how could we care for the stranger among us? United Way of Johnson County, or two locations in Indy (CCI Refugee Resettlement and Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc) would be able to assist in ways to help immigrants and refugees. There are so many among us that we may not even realize who could use a friend and someone who could help point them in the right direction in the area…and ultimately point them toward Christ.
This has been weighing on my heart lately and I just want to commit to step-up and reach out to the least of these. Will you join me in committing to doing what Jesus is asking us to do?