Scripture

“And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, then you were doing it for me!”

Observation

Jesus will sit on His throne in glory, and all the people of the earth will stand before Him. He will separate the people into two groups like a shepherd sorts his sheep from his goats.

Those on His right, the sheep, He will commend for their good works, for the deeds of service and kindness done to Jesus. They will profess ignorance of how they did this, but Jesus says that whatever they did for the least of His brothers and sisters they did for Him.

Similarly, the goats will be condemned for their negligence towards Jesus. They are also told that when they neglected the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters they neglected Him.

Those who are declared unrighteous will go to eternal punishment, but those who are righteous will enter eternal life.

Application

Our attitude towards Jesus is shown by our attitude to the least of His brothers and sisters.

Some people say that for this reason we must serve everybody in order to serve Christ. This is not what is being described here. The brothers and sisters of Christ are His disciples. Together we are the Body of Christ, and so when a part is suffering, the true disciples will seek to reduce the pain of even the least important member.

If I claim to be a christian and remain indifferent to the suffering of the brothers and sisters of Christ, then my actions show that my words are incorrect.

Different people have different God-directed ways of expressing this. Some are passionate about orphans in Africa; some are directed toward prison ministry; still others to helping church members who are sick or permanently disabled.

Faith must be expressed in service, for servanthood is the pathway to greatness in the Kingdom of God.

Prayer

Lord, please help me to always be sensitive to the needs of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.