Jesus Does Take It Personally

“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 25:40

Jesus was speaking to His disciples metaphorically using sheep and goats with the former representing those who follow Him, the saved, and the latter are those who have rejected Him and the gospel, the unsaved or as also known as the lost.  He continued by describing the actions and behaviors of the two as acts of kindness done or not done to Him personally.  Those of His followers were recognized for feeding His hungry and thirsty belly, clothing Him, and visiting Him while He was sick and while in prison.

The righteous spoke up and said, “We didn’t do any of that” (paraphrased).  Jesus answered that because they had done these things for their fellow human beings, it was the same as doing these kindnesses for Him.  The opposite is also true.  Ignoring the needs of others when one has opportunity to bring aid and comfort to them is the same as ignoring Christ.  Of course we are not made right with God the Father through “good works”.  Salvation is a gift of grace that we don’t deserve, but God freely forgives us when we repent and place our faith in Christ.  We are then instilled with the Holy Spirit who prompts us to good works which by our good works shows the world that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  Good works done in the name of Christ are evidence of the change that has taken place in our hearts when we are born again.

Jesus doesn’t need us to feed and clothe Him.  His Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10).  However, He does need us to care for those that He puts in our path.  We are Jesus’ hands and feet.  We might just be the only Jesus that some folks see.  This is a great responsibility, but Jesus would not ask it of us without giving us the ability and wherewithal to represent Him to the world.  I think that makes us kind of special.  In this life, when someone recognizes us for a job well done, we feel pretty good about it, hopefully not getting a “big head” about our work, but it is nice to be appreciated.  Imagine how we will feel when, upon standing before the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus says to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21a).  It will make us awfully glad that we didn’t shirk our Christian responsibilities and responses to the needs of others.  After all, being Christlike is being like Christ.