3.23.2005 | "the least of these"

While on the subject of obeying the will of God (previous post on Ezekiel 14), let's consider these verses from Matthew 25. With reference to rendering His judgment, the full context:

41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Savor that, "as you did not do it to one of the least of these." Where does a helpless person such as Terri Schiavo fit on the spectrum of the "least of these?" Easy question, and it is no accident that societies are often judged by how they treat the most helpless of its citizens. This is how God will judge us.

As of this writing, it appears that legal remedies to save her life are failing. The failure, however, will be ours, and there will be a reckoning.

| technorati tag | Christianity|