Sunday Morning Convictions- Jan 22, 2012: Least of These

Matthew 25:40

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

40The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

I was introduced to a new perspective this morning... I am not sure why it had to be new to me, but it was. In the awesome grace that exists within our God, He reveals things to us. He does this according to our need, and our abilities at the time.
The above passage from Matthew was part of the reading in our small group study this morning, and is a verse that we pretty much are all used to. It, like so much of the Bible, has (sadly) become mundane. What made it new for me this morning was a question posed by another member of our men's class. To paraphrase, who is included in the "least of these"? That question was followed by the one that has now changed my perspective... continuing to paraphrase, he said, wouldn't that include ALL people, at least from the perspective of Christ?

I was not immediately blown away by this, because I was not in that place at the time. But this exchange of ideas began working in me at that moment, and throughout our worship and service... Now sitting at home, I am astounded by the thought...

From the perspective of Jesus (the perspective we should be viewing and living our lives), ALL people are the least of these. For many of us, we think of the needy, the downtrodden, and so on as being only the financially poor. But are we all not lacking in some way? At some point in our lives we were all (and many still are) morally and spiritually bankrupt. Our society is filled with financial wellness, yet we lack simple compassion and respect for each other. What Jesus is trying to get us to realize is that our interactions with each other, and our relationships we build are foundational to living a Christ-focused life.

Yes, it is of huge importance how we serve and help those who are in some way, shape, or form less fortunate than ourselves... but it is also of supreme importance how we serve those who are not. We should strive to look past the first glance and understand that everyone, no matter who they are, has a need... we should be seeking a way to assist that need.