One of the Least

Read: Matthew 25:31-46

Simi pouted as she placed the bag of toys beside the other cartons in the back of the minivan. “Mummy, why do we have to go to the refugee camp on a Saturday?”

Simi’s mum shut the van’s back door. “You already know why, Simi. Those children need all the love and attention they can get.”

“I know.” Simi kicked a stone into the sand as she walked to the front seat of the minivan. “But Saturdays are supposed to be for fun and games.”

Mum opened the driver’s side door. “I know you feel like you’re missing out,” she said, buckling her seat belt once they were inside. “But just think of the trauma those children have been through. Their villages were raided, houses burned, and some of them lost their parents and close family members. That’s sad, isn’t it?”

Simi nodded her head.

“So, the least we can do is put a smile on their faces,” Mum continued. “When we do, we put a smile on Jesus’s face too. There’s a verse in the Bible where He says that ‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Simi looked up. “I don’t understand.”

Mum smiled. “When we give food and clothes to people who don’t have any and take care of them, it’s the same as doing it to Jesus.”

Simi brightened up a bit. “Oh! Just like what we’re doing for the people at the refugee camp?”

Mum nodded. “Jesus loves us so much that He became human and sacrificed His life to save us from sin. Because we trust in Him, we’re able to show His love to others. When we make sacrifices to help others, He counts it as us doing those things for Him.”

Some hours later at the camp, Simi’s mum was serving food to a line of children while Simi stood beside her, glancing around. Then her eyes caught a baby crying. The volunteer nurse holding her couldn’t seem to calm her down.

Simi walked over. “Can I help?”

The nurse gladly released the baby into Simi’s outstretched arms. Simi cradled the baby, and she stopped crying.

Simi’s mum, who had been silently watching, beamed.

–Elo Omonkhogbe

How about you? How can you show the love of Jesus to others? Perhaps there’s someone at your school or church who needs a friend. Maybe you can help meet the needs of people in your community or another part of the world by sharing what you have and telling them about Jesus. When we make sacrifices for others to show them Jesus’s love, we’re doing those things for Him. How can you make Jesus smile today?

Today's Key Verse: Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Show love through sacrifice