Take No One For Granted 

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“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of 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 took Me in; 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?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

 

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;  I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

 

"Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

                                                                                                                               -  Matthew 25:31-46 

 

Today’s Scripture becomes particularly challenging when we consider that Christ will meet us today in someone who is "the least of these." Christ has promised, "I will be with you always." We often think of this in terms of His coming to visit us at the point of our need to give us comfort and strength. That is often true. But don't miss the startling thing He has said to us today in this disturbing passage. Where will we find Him? Often in the most unlikely, "the least." Who is that? A person in need.

 

How do we describe a response to Christ? We use words like "commitment," "Surrender," and "dedication." Then are we not to respond to Him in the "least of these" in the same way? We are to be as committed to help, as surrendered to serve, and as dedicated to follow as if Christ appeared Himself.

 

We all have people in our lives who are the "least." They are the emotionally, spiritually, physically needy people in our families, among our friends, in our places of work, as well as in the more obviously indigent pockets of poverty in our communities. Be careful of the either/or. We can miss the needy in the community by preoccupation with our immediate circle; but we can also miss the needs closest to us by overinvolvement in the more obvious needs in the community.

 

The danger is if we miss one or the other by lack of balance. The "least" often changes for us. It may be a spouse, a child, or a close friend; at another time it may be someone who is segregated or debilitated socially; or again, it may be someone who is lonely or hung up by life. How shall we know who it is for each of us? Ask Christ who the particular "least" is for you. The wonder of prayer is that He will show us.

 

We are to be as committed to serve the "least" as we are to serve Christ Himself.

 

 

 

 

 

The devotional message, “Take No One For Granted”, was written by the late Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, and was taken from his book, “God’s Best For My Life”,  Page 335.  Used with permission from Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, www.harvesthousepublishers.com.  
 

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