The Least

Why is it so easy to look the other way when we see someone in need? The man asking for money, the homeless lady, the hungry child on the infomercial—if we can just look the other way, they will soon be gone and we can go back to our comfortable lives.

We have great excuses too. He needs to get a job. If she had any morals she wouldn’t be in that situation. They’re just exploiting those kids for money.

But Jesus never told us to diagnose how they got in their predicament. In fact, when Jesus described the judgment, He said He would separate everyone into two groups; one group would be welcomed into their place of reward (heaven), while the other group would be sent to the place of punishment (lake of fire). What standard did He use to divide the groups?

He said one group ministered to Him when He was in need—fed Him, clothed Him, gave Him water, took care of Him, and visited Him in prison. That group was welcomed into heaven. The other group saw Jesus in need and never helped Him.

Of course you and I don’t see Jesus in need of anything, but in Matthew 25:40, Jesus said that when we minister to the least, we are ministering to Him. So look for Jesus today and minister to Him.

By the way, this is not saying you can make it to heaven by doing good things. But once you become a Christian, you will naturally want to do good things. So go out today and feed the hungry, visit the sick, show love to the unlovable. And remember, it is pointless to do any good work without doing it in the name of Jesus.