"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.’"
Jesus is explaining in a parable that caring for the poor, sick, and
disenfranchised shows the special love he feels personally. In this world driven by a
quest for money and success it’s somewhat hard to find stories of someone who does
something because it’s the right thing to do, not what’s in it for them. This
reminds me of a young mother many years ago.
This young mother of two children was going to college to better
herself. Yet she still had to worry about the matters of life and needed a job. She
obtained a part time job as an Assistant House Mother at a home for mentally disadvantaged
males. These males ranged in age from the mid-twenties to the mid-fifties. Her job was to
be a mother to these men. The program was designed to help these individuals learn to be
self sufficient and live by themselves.
Her responsibilities consisted of supervising them while they performed
routine housekeeping chores and prepared the evening meal. Oh, and when the full time
Resident Directors were away, she was to put them to bed and sleep in the resident house.
The first night that she had to stay over night, she was frightened.
She did not know what to expect. But she was a mother and so she did her best.
She eventually learned that these individuals each had a separate
personality, just like you and I. They also had an enormous capacity to love. Before long
they became her second family. While working, she took them everywhere with her. She
loaded the seven men into the company station wagon and took them to Wichita to go
shopping. It was an amazing sight. Hand by hand, they bound themselves together and wound
their way through the busy department stores. She even took them to see her own
children’s school programs.
It was not something her job required. It was something she did to
enrich their lives. What did she get out of it? Nothing, but her wages. Well, that may not
be quite accurate. She blossomed as a Christian Care Giver and developed a loving
relationship with her Lord like other Saints who unselfishly love their brothers.
