"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.'" ~~Matthew 25:40
The question is, though, who exactly ARE 'the least of these'?
There is one obvious answer to this, but a recent devotion we had really changed the way I think of this verse and the way I see others. I feel compelled to share because I believe it has the potential to do the same for you if youve never heard it the way Im about to explain it...
The obvious answer:
My entire life I have been taught that the least of these includes the lost, the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan, the lonely, etc, etc, etc. I think that is what we have all been taught... and that is absolutely correct. After all the Bible does tell us in James 1.27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. And there are countless other verses that speak on this issue.
The potentially not-so-obvious answer:
However, there is a greater overall theme in this passage. There is one thing that these people groups we generally consider to be part of "the least of these" all have in common...
THEY DONT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER.
In our humanness, we like to pretend we always have it all together. We put on a facade. A mask. But who does have it all together? I know I dont, and to be willing to acknolwedge this is something that many of us FLI'ers have been learning in a huge way this semester. None of us 'have it all together'. We all have our own issues and things to deal with and work through. In reality, there is only one person in all of history who has had it all together. His name is Jesus Christ and He desperately wants us to realize it is OKAY for us to not have it all together... thats why He came to this earth, died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day. Thats why He tells us in Matthew 11.28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I certainly am tired of trying to have it all together all the time, and I am so glad I can rest in the arms of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
So, I guess we are all in this together... none of us have it together. I am one of 'the least of these'... and so are you. Every person I pass each day is one of the least of these, and they deserve the same care and compassion from me that I give (hopefully) to the people groups that this "label" is traditionally reserved for in our churches. Let's change that. Ultimately, this issue comes down to one of "loving your neighbor as yourself", and remembering who our NEIGHBOR is (I talked about this in my March 10 post!).
My neighbor is one of the least of these. You are one of the least of these. I am one of the least of these. I truly believe that this is how Christ has called us to live, and if we all begin to live in this frame of mind, we could start a revolution in this world. What are we waiting for? Let's do it.
Crazy side notes:
- It snowed today. Wow.
- My camera offically died a few days ago. I have a new one, but I'm still trying to figure out how to use it.
- Here are a few pictures I stole from friends on Facebook to hold you over until I learn!
Me and my good friend, Caitlin VanWagoner
Clogging it up at the FLI Follies!
The crazy hiking group on Red Mountain at sunrise
Caitlin Hetzel and I... huffing and puffing up the Incline
See everyone back in NC next week...
Grace and Peace!
I'm looking forward to having you back in NC. I'm very thankful that you've had the opportunity to be at FLI and even more thankful for the awesome experiences that you've had while there. Can't wait to see how God is going to use you once you're back!
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