"The Least of These"

I have been pen-pal and prayer-partner to a young missionary named Justin Grogg, who is working with youth and children in Huancayo, Peru...about a 7-hour bus ride west of the capital of Lima. Justin is a guy in his 20's from Fort Wayne, IN, and has been in Peru for the past year. It has been an honor and pleasure to provide prayer and encouragement for this incredible young man of God who left his family (including his fiancee) to go be a witness for Christ in an extremely poverty-stricken area of the country, where over 50% of the population lives on less than $2.00 per day.

Tomorrow is World Communion Sunday, and in Justin's most recent newsletter, he shared an experience that I feel is a great illustration of how we are called to share the "Bread of Life" throughout the world. What follows are Justin's words, and I pray that you'll be blessed by them as I was:

Matthew 25:40, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Earlier this month, I was walking just after I finished a run. As I walked, I passed by a lady who was dressed in rags. Under her rags, you could see that she had sores all over her body. Her hair was tangled and she was very, very dirty. As I walked by, she started yelling at me and throwing rocks (in Peru, to fend off the dogs, you throw rocks). I quickly jumped away, looked back and prayed for her and went home.

The next day, I was coming back from a little store with my bread for the day, and saw the same lady sitting on the curb just a few houses from mine. With the bread in hand, my heart quickly just poured out to her. I went to her, reached out and handed her the bread. Even in her mentally challenged state, I could tell she was extremely thankful.

As I reflected on this experience, the above verse came to me. When serving others here, I am not only serving “the least of these”, but I’m serving God too-what a blessing!! How much more would I stop and help “the least of these”, people in need I see every day, if I saw the person as God sitting on the edge of the curb dressed in rags. If I literally saw God dressed in rags and knew He was God on the curb, I would stop and drop everything in a heart beat, just like how Peter threw down the nets when he realized it was Jesus calling to him from the shore after Jesus’ resurrection. How much more would I give if I saw God in need, not a complete stranger. I want to encourage us when we see somebody in need, even a complete stranger, to see the person as God and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to fulfill the needs of “the least of these.”