“To The Least Of These”

“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.” - Matthew 25: 31-40

I had a friend stop me on a Tuesday night at a College Ministry event I was attending. He sought me out to tell me that he was part of something special and that he felt I would gain a lot from being a part of it. He mentioned that the following day, he and a few of his friends were going to go out into the most densely populated parts of our city and show love to the homeless. In my mind, I thought, what a great opportunity, this would be awesome to be a part of. As the following day commenced, my schedule packed itself full, like brothers and I at Thanksgiving dinner. I became so busy that the invitation slipped through the cracks of my brain and landed on the back burner. Thank the Lord for good friends, because my friend called me and asked if I was still able to go. The truth was no, I was not. I had a stack of homework assignments to complete, preparation for my radio shift the following morning, and an interview with a local community official. Surely he would understand, realizing that this was a unique situation and I would join them the following time. I began to utter an apology, but then I hesitated. The puzzle pieces in my brain began to fit together as I sat back and had a moment of humility. This was not an issue of busyness, because in actuality, I had enough time to complete all of my tasks, join my friend, and have leftover time, but in the depths of my heart, I had the selfish thought that since the activity was not serving me and my needs, it was not an effective use of my time. I basked in my moment of humility for half a second and gave a hesitant yes. There were still a few responsibilities that I had to take care of, but I would be there eventually. I completed my tasks and met my friend and his comrades at the most glorious dining establishment, Taco Bell. They had just wrapped up preparing the food that they ordered to hand out, so we prayed and hopped in our vehicles.

I eventually ended up in my friend’s car, and as we drove, I started to notice something. We spotted a man sitting in a parking lot and decided he was our next target. As silly as it sounds, I became giddy with excitement to hand off the food and experience the warm, fluffy feeling you get inside when you make an unselfish public act. Now, I might be being a little hard on myself, but I admit my heart posture was not perfectly aligned with where it should have been. Before we got out of the car, my friend asked me if I had ever had a conversation with a homeless person. I answered with a quick, sharp yes. Of course I had. My entire life, my dad had been the one to roll down the window at stoplights and give our friends money or gift cards. I had been on numerous mission trips and served the homeless communities of the cities I visited. I had even served in food banks and service days, giving away food to the needy. I had tons of experience talking to homeless people.

I was just about as wrong as can be. Understand that the first interaction we had was primarily listening, and very little talking, but I sat quietly in shock for the entirety of the conversation. A conversation that was not short. I obviously was not putting my finger to a stopwatch, but we returned to the car 30-40 minutes after we had originally left it. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. We had used so much of my ‘valuable time’ listening to someone who needed to be heard. Instead of the warm fuzzy feelings that I expected, I felt a deep sense of remorse, thinking back to my past interactions and the extreme lack of intentionality that was present in each and every one.

Throughout the whole conversation, the words of Matthew 25 entered my head and then began ringing like a bell that never stopped. For the rest of that day and late into the night I could not get those words out of my head: “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.’” (Matthew 25: 40). Compared to the world’s standards, this man was ‘the least of these’. He was socially at the bottom of the food chain with little to nothing to offer to today’s society from an outside perspective. But in the eyes of Jesus Christ, he was a child of God, a sinner in need of redemption, and a person who needs Jesus’ love and mercy every single day. As I write that out, I can’t help but think how similar we are. In fact, there is no difference in how God values us. In the idealism of eternity versus our time on Earth, eternity is of an unbelievably higher level of value, yet we rarely treat it that way.

Eternity is exactly what it sounds like: forever. So, in a society where I would be lucky to live 80 years, why in the world would I put stock into the things of this world when I'm forever in front of me? Jesus makes it very clear on His time on Earth: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). So, why in the world would I put stock into what I own, what I have accomplished, or what other people think of me, when the only opinion that matters about me is God’s, which determines my ‘forever’?

It’s so easy to get caught up in the here and now, or even the future, but when you think from the perspective of ‘forever’, twenty years down the road pales in comparison. The conversation we had with that man and the following conversations we had changed my perspective and thus changed my life. I do not view the world the same way. I do my best not to take for granted the sacrifice that Christ paid on behalf of my sins, and I don’t walk through each and every day focused solely on myself and what benefits me. Obviously, there is so much space to grow in all of those areas, but I am committed to following God’s will for my life, and I am 100% sure that includes taking care of ‘the least of these’.