Who Are the Least of These?

Who are “the least of these”? The answer may not be what you expect.

The phrase, “the least of these” is found in the parable of the Sheep and Goats that Jesus told in Matthew 25:31-46. This passage describes a coming time of judgment. A time when our behavior toward “the least of these” is received by Him—good or bad.

Today, when we speak of “the least of these,” we might think of those who are homeless, unemployed, food insecure, hurting, or disabled. And we’re in danger of  “looking down our noses” at large segments of the population.

After all, most of us are not homeless. Most of us are employed. Our pantries are full—or will be after our next trip to Publix. Most of us are as educated as we’d like to be – or at least we have the opportunity to pursue more education if we want it. And we’re healthy or have access to the medical care we need when we need it.

Consider a portion of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-4 (NIV) from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

We receive the kingdom of heaven by acknowledging our spiritual poverty. We cannot do anything that will ever be good enough to earn salvation. That thought should grieve us. And Jesus added that when we mourn over our sin and our inability to do anything about it, He’ll comfort us. How? By doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Is that you and me today? Do we understand our own spiritual poverty? That in God’s eyes, you and I are also “the least of these”?

There But for the Grace of God Go I

I have flippantly used the phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I.” I’ve used it to refer to someone struggling with circumstances I hope to avoid. Still, circumstances are temporary and could change in the blink of an eye.

But the phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I,” applies to more than temporary situations. It applies to eternal life, for it’s only by the grace of God that we’ll spend eternity with Him.

Yes, there are people we can refer to as “the least of these.” Destitute people who have reached the end of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual resources.

But do you and I realize that apart from Christ, we are also spiritually destitute?

That if we don’t feed on God’s Word, we’re starving ourselves?

And that we share a thirst for God which David described in Psalm 42:1, when he wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (Psalm 42:1 NIV).

In God’s sight, we are the least of these: the destitute, hungry, and thirsty.

So before we point a finger at people around us or judge others for their wrong choices, consider the result if God treated us the same way? “Hey, you chose to sin. To rebel against Me. To ignore Me. Now you can pay the consequences. I’m done with forgiving you over and over and over again.” Because of Jesus, we’ll never hear that message from God.

More Than a Cliché

So, will we extend grace to those we might view as the least of these, as God extends grace to us?

Will we offer kindness and mercy to the least of these, as God extends His kindness and mercy to us?

And will we share our resources and give of ourselves—our time & effort—to the least of these, knowing God did not hold back even His Son for us?

“There but for the grace of God go I” is more than a cliché. We really are also “the least of these.” Sometimes we forget it. Sometimes we want to forget it—to separate ourselves from “those” people.

But God remembers. He remembers every time He looks at His Son’s nail-scarred hands. And so should we.