This Is Us | Relentlessly Good | The Least of These

“Truly I say, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40

“Would you go with me to the custody hearing?” Della asked. Lonna shut her eyes and grimaced, glad her new life group member couldn’t see her over the phone. She’d already let Della cry on her shoulder and gave the best counsel she could. Now here she was again. “I’ll have to check my schedule,” Lonna replied, writing a NO on her mental calendar. That evening, she asked the Lord about it: “Jesus, I don’t want to go with her. I’d do it for you, but not her.” Before she had finished the thought, His answer came: “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.” Lonna sighed. “OK, Lord. I get it.”

Jesus is so easy to love, isn’t He? It would be pure joy to wait on Him hand and foot, fulfill His every request, and bask in the warmth of His appreciative smile. But then there are these PEOPLE… Annoying. Demanding. Boring. We’d be glad to serve Jesus, but them? He knows that about us, so He was careful to spell this principle out clearly: We serve Him by serving them. Then He took it a step further and suggested we search out the ones nobody is standing in line to love. The LEAST of these.

The mentally handicapped. The poverty-stricken. The foreigner. The prisoner. The abused. The confused. They’re right in front of us if we’ll open our hearts to see them. When we find ways to serve the least of these, we’re literally serving Jesus.

Final Thought:  Being relentlessly good means we’re willing to serve “the least of these” as a way of serving Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus, it’s easy to overlook the people that everyone else overlooks. Sometimes they’re frustrating, unappreciative, and I might be taken advantage of. But if I look at it as serving you, no matter how it turns out, you’re pleased. I’ll do it. Amen.