April 22

The Least of These

            “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the 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 people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 

Matthew 25:31-40

            In the Last Days, God will come to judge the world.  There will be two camps, the sheep and the goats…the righteous and the damned.  I don’t know what goats did back in the Garden of Eden to deserve the stigma of representing those cursed to everlasting torment, but there it is.

            Jesus lays out for His disciples the criteria that the Lord will use when looking at those who are before Him.  He does not ask how many church services they attended.  He does not ask how many quiet times they had.  He does not ask their political affiliation or where they stood on social issues or how many times they drank alcohol.  He highlights how many times they served “the least of these.” 

            “The Least of These,” are those that society had forgotten and discarded.  The poor.  The broken.  Those in prison and those in need.  The orphan.  The widow.  The sick.  What good are they when your society is fighting with the rest of the world for power?  They consume resources instead of contributing value.  They draw attention and time and money away from excellence and success.  There are some schools of thought that even suggest that the marginalized should be cut off and allowed to die, to be pruned, so that the best and brightest of society may be allowed to become even better and brighter.  When we see the homeless being shipped away from communities or the elderly being exiled from their families or the mentally ill being locked into institutions, that is pruning in action.

            The IDD community falls into the category of “the Least of These.”  Without an investment of significant resources, they quickly find themselves on the margins of society, ignored and abandoned while the best and brightest make their advancements.  Accommodations have to be made in education and employment or they fall behind their peers and eventually fall off the radar of society at large.  IDD parents fight with intensity and ferocity because we refuse to allow our culture to throw away our children.

            Into this conflict steps the Savior and Judge of the world.  He says that the true measure of a man is not how you treated the best and brightest, not how your society was smarter or stronger or richer than your rivals.  The true measure is how you gave to those who could not give back.  Were you generous with those in need?  Did you see the marginalized?  Did you visit them and care for them and build them up when they could do none of that for you?  Those are who God calls righteous and blessed for He identifies Himself with the marginalized, not the successful.

              First off, receive this as tremendous affirmation.  As you have poured your life into the needs of your child, it is as if you have been loving God in real and tangible ways.  Your hours of service are not a wasting of your life, but an investment in Eternity.  Blessed and righteous are you.

            Second off, this is an invitation to allow others to serve you and your children.  Your child may be the only member of “the Least of These” that some of your friends, family or church have contact with.  I know that we can be protective, even overprotective, of our kids since we are the ones who best know what they need and how to take care of them.  We don’t want to appear needy or out of control and have a tendency to keep others at arm’s distance.  When we do that, we deny our community an opportunity to love God through loving our children.  If there are people who want to help with the care of your child…maybe say “yes” once in a while.  Maybe someone else could feed them or take them to the park or read to them for a little while.  You get a break.  Your child gets to know that someone else values them.  The other person gets to love God through loving a very special person.

            Serve others by allowing them to serve us.  It sounds strange but in the kingdom of God, everyone wins.

A moment to reflect:

Allow someone to show kindness to your child this week.