The Least Of These.

    Matthew 25:40 reads as follows;"And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily, I say unto you in as much as ye have done it to  the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." As I consider this passage in the Bible, I pause to reflect on the words, the least of these. After some further thought I think I know what Jesus,  meant when he said,  the least of these. For a Christian,  the least of these,  refers to anyone a Christian may come across in their life that has a a specific need of one kind or another. Admittedly, some needs are greater than others but Christians, are encouraged by Christ,  to meet the needs of others whenever possible.
    I remember as a teenager,  in 1977, my dad took in a family and they lived with us for almost a year. They had just been evicted from their apartment and the head of this family had just lost his job and had just started working at  a new job but wasn't  making much money when he first took the job so,  my dad,  basically carried the family. Our house already had my  mother and dad and my sister and I living in it and now their were four other people living in it an additional mother and dad and two children, But alas, only one bathroom! I suppose I don't have to tell you,  your life soon changes when four extra people are sharing your bathroom. I have to also tell you I ate a lot  of spaghetti that year because it was something one could make a lot of and it was cheap and easy to make and  therefore, it would feed everyone.
    A year later,  the dad of this family,  received a big promotion  where he worked and was then able to find a nice house to live in.When the family was finally back on there feet, I kept wondering why they never offered my dad any money for taking them in and basically caring them for a year especially, since my dad worked three jobs that year to be able to help this family. Years later, I ask my dad if this family ever gave  him any money to thank him for carrying them for a year. He said no they didn't but he didn't mind because he did not take them  in with the idea of one day being repaid. Then I asked him,  then why he did it and he said because they were the least of these,  they were fellow Christians, and he was meeting their need  just as if Jesus, had stopped at our house and needed a place to live for a while.All at once,  I understood why  my dad,  carried this family,  for a year he wasn't  doing it to be repaid someday. He did as if he were doing it for Jesus. As Jesus,   in Matthew 25;40 says, in as mush as he have done it to the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. As always, my friends, these thoughts remain, just, some words, to think on.