Christian Reflection and Prayer

Who is "the least" in your life?

I assure you, when you did it to
one of the least of these my brothers
and sisters, you were doing it for me!
Matthew 25:40 NLT

Loving the Least

I remember a poster on a dorm-room
wall during my days in college. The
poster was a picture of a homeless
man lying in a dirty gutter holding a
bottle in a paper bag by his side. The
inscription on the bottom was a quote
from Mother Teresa. It read, "You love
Jesus only as much as the person
you love the least."

For all we don't understand about the
life of Jesus and the true nature of God,
there is one truth that he made
completely clear. The Christian faith
is about service and humility. It's about
helping those who can't help themselves.
It's about loving others more than we
love ourselves—even the most unlovable
among us.

What is the sign of true followers? Is it
the amount of knowledge that we have?
Is it the money we give to missions? the
degrees we've earned? the number of
people we've preached to? the hours
we've spent worshiping in church? the
books we've read or written?

According to Jesus, the sign of the
saved is their love for the least.

It is said that when Francis of Assisi
left his wealth behind to seek God, he
stripped naked and walked out of the
city. The first person he encountered
on his journey was a leper on the side
of the road. He first passed him, then
turned back. He embraced the leper in
his arms before continuing his journey.
A few steps down the road he turned
and saw that the leper was gone. Until
his dying day, Francis of Assisi was
convinced that the leper was Jesus.
Even if he was wrong, he was right.

(I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER
MYSELF!)    AMEN

adapted from Embracing Eternity by
Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and
Frank M. Martin,, Tyndale House
Publishers (2004), p 3