34Then the King will say to those at His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father [you [g]favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit (receive as your own) the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you [h]brought Me together with yourselves and welcomed and entertained and [i]lodged Me,
36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me [j]with help and ministering care, I was in prison and you came to see Me.
37Then the just and upright will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and gave You food, or thirsty and gave You something to drink?
38And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed and entertained You, or naked and clothed You?
39And when did we see You sick or in prison and came to visit You?
40And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [[k]in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me.
41Then He will say to those at His left hand, Begone from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!
42For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink,
43I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me and entertain Me, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me [l]with help and ministering care.
44Then they also [in their turn] will answer, 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?
45And He will reply to them, Solemnly I declare to you, in so far as you failed to do it for the least [[m]in the estimation of men] of these, you failed to do it for Me.
I’m amazed this time of the year how many people are out of their homes rushing about trying to meet the time lines our culture has created for this season. People are everywhere by the droves driven with the task at hand. It’s sad how much we have secularized this sacred time, but it is so important that we don’t miss God working His redemptive purposes in all of this. We need the eyes of our hearts to see God causing all things to work together for good, even in the midst of a materialistic culture driven to try and create happiness that will depressingly disappear the morning of Dec.26. There are more suicides this time of the year than any other, because people are confronted with loneliness, and lost hopes and dreams.
The gift of God in all of this, is that Christ is so easy to find; not in the songs or sights of the season, but in the faces of the Poor, and the Poor in Spirit. Matt.25 reminds us that He disguises Himself in the Hungry, Thirsty, Sick, Stranger, Naked, and the Prisoner. Slow down, and see the faces of the hungry and thirsty for love; the sick in mind and heart; the lonely strangers; the humiliated, and fallen; and those in bondage. Stop long enough to recognize Him crying out on their behalf through their brokeness for love and healing. Comfort Him with a smile, or a kind word or a loving gesture. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, such simple pennies from Heaven can change a life. Of course it is easy to find Him among the poor, but if you ask the Holy Spirit to help, He will make it just as easy to find Jesus among the poor in spirit. He will help you recognize Christ among the affluent poor, who are often the poorest of the poor among us.
Have a great season going out into the streets and Malls looking for Jesus. He said if we bless the least of these, we do it to Him. The reality of the incarnation is among us. May we have eyes to see.