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

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:10 (New International Version)

10And the God of all grace, who called
you to his eternal glory in Christ, after
you have suffered a little while, will
himself restore you and make you
strong, firm and steadfast.

Reflection:

I remember when I was a kid,
I was always assigned to the
back seat of our car whenever
we went on a trip. I was very lucky,
I had a patient father because my
favorite pass time was asking him,
When will we be there? or Is it
much further? or How many more
minutes till we get there.  And Dad
would always patiently respond,
"Just a little longer....not quite yet....
a few more miles."
You know children tire quite quickly
during long trips, (actually not such
long trips), just as children of God
tire quickly of the troubles of the
world.  But as a Christian I have to
ask myself, What is suffering for a
little while in preparation of the glory
that is to follow.  Because this time
I already know the answer to my
questions, to my sufferings.  It is
God's grace and His eternal glory.
What a goal to look forward to.

Prayer:

Oh Lord thank You for giving me the
answer, Your Son Whose death and
resurrection saved me, and
Who is coming soon, a goal I am
looking forward too.
In Jesus Name AMEN

Mt. Vernon,   Texas :   Drummond's Bar began
construction on a new building to increase their
business. Across the street, the local Baptist
church  started a campaign to block the bar from
opening with petitions and prayers. Work
progressed right up till the week before opening
when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the
ground. The church folks were rather smug in their
outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the
church on the grounds that the church was
ultimately responsible for the demise of his
building, either through direct or indirect actions
or means. The church vehemently denied all
responsibility or any connection to the building's
demise in its reply to the court. As the case made
its way into court, the judge looked over the
 paperwork. At the hearing he commented,
"I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but
as it appears from the paperwork, we have a
bar owner who believes in the power of prayer,
and an entire church congregation that does not."