Who Are the Least of These His Brothers?
Last week I wrote about a loved one with dementia. This week I want to broaden that topic out.
In Matthew 25:31-46, we see the Son of Man separating the nations, separating people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
What basis is used for determining which category each one is assigned? Sheep are believers, goats, unbelievers. Then the sheep/believers seem to be divided according to how they treated the least among them--the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. These were people with obvious needs who where in no position to return a favor.
(This reminds me of James 2:1-9: "My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing fine clothes, and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' and you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there or sit by my footstool,' have you not become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren, did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to Scripture, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.")
These people, needy in one way or another, can become invisible people in our churches.
Isn't it easier to welcome the young and the healthy than to minister to/care for the aged and the less able? Much is lost when churches dismiss the elderly rather than learning from them. The same applies with the disabled/other less-abled.
And there is another group than can all to easily become invisible.
Just consider how quickly widows and orphans and single parents often become lost in any crowd, at church or elsewhere, yet what James 1:27 says applies as long as they are in these positions: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
Do any of us give much thought to orphans and widows once their immediate loss passes? Do any of us even call them or send a note to them to let them know we are concerned about them? Do any of us step up to meet their on-going needs? Doing so is "pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father."
In Matthew 25:31-46, we see the Son of Man separating the nations, separating people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
What basis is used for determining which category each one is assigned? Sheep are believers, goats, unbelievers. Then the sheep/believers seem to be divided according to how they treated the least among them--the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. These were people with obvious needs who where in no position to return a favor.
(This reminds me of James 2:1-9: "My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing fine clothes, and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' and you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there or sit by my footstool,' have you not become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren, did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to Scripture, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.")
These people, needy in one way or another, can become invisible people in our churches.
Isn't it easier to welcome the young and the healthy than to minister to/care for the aged and the less able? Much is lost when churches dismiss the elderly rather than learning from them. The same applies with the disabled/other less-abled.
And there is another group than can all to easily become invisible.
Just consider how quickly widows and orphans and single parents often become lost in any crowd, at church or elsewhere, yet what James 1:27 says applies as long as they are in these positions: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
Do any of us give much thought to orphans and widows once their immediate loss passes? Do any of us even call them or send a note to them to let them know we are concerned about them? Do any of us step up to meet their on-going needs? Doing so is "pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father."
posted by Ebeth | 7:34 PM
1 Comments:
Your words are so true. I, and the church, need to do better.
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