Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

This story of rewards and punishments in the Last Judgment is well known, yet we stumble over it more often than not. There are various questions raised by it, such as just who is a brother by Jesus’ definition. But when we start looking for loopholes, we’ve lost the whole point. Jesus is saying here that when we relate to people on the basis of “What’s in it for me?” then we are essentially spitting in His face. We are to look at those around us as fellow recipients of the grace of God, recognizing that we ourselves could be or do nothing apart from that grace, and so rejoice to be channels of that grace to others. The Golden Rule, “Do to others what you would have them do to you,” (Matthew 7:12) has far more depth and applicability that we like to admit. Here, Jesus is extending that same rule to eternal consequences. We aren’t to be nice to people because we’re afraid we’ll get zapped if we aren’t, or to try to earn “brownie points” with God. Rather, we are to respond to others out of a recognition of God’s love for us, and that He loves those others just as much as He does us. When we do that, we will indeed serve them as we would serve Jesus, just as He talks about here.

I struggle with this at times too! As I tell couples in marriage counseling, the Golden Rule can be very dangerous if approached wrongly, especially between men and women. If we expect – demand – that others like things to be the way we do, we are guaranteeing conflict. The point is to love enough to care enough to find out what the person really needs or wants, and seek to do that for them. So much “charity” is whatever makes the person doing it feel good, rather than what the recipient really needs. Sometimes, what they really need is some discipline! However, seeing them as a little brother or sister of Jesus, as He paints the picture here, is perhaps the best guide. I’ve got to remember how much of His patience and mercy I’ve demanded by my own actions, and so be willing to let that patience and mercy operate through me toward others.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the assurance that in the final analysis it will all be worth it. Help me never hold back, but let Your love and grace flow through me unhindered, with Your wisdom, to produce Your results for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!