Least of These

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:34-40

Who doesn't love a baby? Most people do. Sweet chubby cheeks, tender smiles and giggles, that wonderful smell of baby powder after a diaper change. What's not to love? 

But what is the value of a baby in the economy? They can't work. They can't earn a living. Depending on the age, they can do very little to nothing for themselves. They consume, they cry, they demand attention. They could be considered the "least" as far as economical value and worth is concerned. The value is in the eye of the beholder; wrapped with strong ties of emotion and that warm fuzzy feeling you get inside when an innocent baby smiles at you. They may be the least to some - but to someone else, they are the greatest. 

Children in foster care could be considered the least. Most (like 99% as an my non-educated guess) come with serious baggage. They have out-of-control tantrums. They're sick and have a constant runny nose. They scream for no reason at the top of their lungs. They're inconsolable to your touch, because they've never been soothed before. They bang their heads on the floor or self-harm.  You can almost always guarantee they have a history clouded by abuse and neglect in one form or another. They are the least; the smallest thought on our enormous list of things to deal with and consider. But the least should be greatest. 

I was watching an old rerun of the show Reba today, mostly because Ray just happened to stop on that channel. The episode was filmed after hurricane Katrina. Reba had a large black family living under her roof as refugees from the devastation. She was stressed. She wanted to give up. Then the refugee mom pointed to Matthew 25:35 in her Bible and read it aloud. I cried. So much is sacrificed when you open your home to foster children; but it astonishes me to think that those sweet faces I cried over, the runny noses I wiped countless times, the weekly trips to the doctor, the messes, putting up with the screams, the ridiculous tantrums, my fruitless attempts at preventing the self-harming - they were all for Jesus. Good gracious - how quick I would be to wipe the nose of Jesus if He were sick! I would clean up His messes with JOY because He cleaned up the mess I made of my life. To think that everything I dealt with and went through with those five children last year was for Him - it was undeniably worth it. The least of these. Sweet children who didn't have a choice. Children who were forced to cope in whatever way possible, even if that meant eating trash off the floor for some means of sustenance. 

This is real folks. I've been called - you've been called. We're supposed to care for the least of these. Maybe you can't be a foster parent; but can you pray for those that are? Can you provide a meal for a foster mom that just got a new placement? Can you buy diapers? Can you help the single foster mom catch up on housework? You might not be called to be a foster parent - but you've been called to serve the least of these. Not for the foster parents; not for the child; but for Gods Kingdom. For Gods Glory. After all - He did it for us when we were there. We owe Him the same.