The Hero

Christ Identifies With the Poor and Suffering

Picture: Christ Identifies With the Poor and Suffering 3TC 397.1

This chapter is based on Matthew 25:31-46.

When the Son of Man comes ..., then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another.” In this way Christ pictured the scene of the great Judgment Day. When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be only two classes, and their eternal destiny will depend on what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and suffering. 3TC 397.2

In that day Christ does not present before men and women the great work He has done for them in giving His life; He presents the faithful work they have done for Him. “‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” But those whom Christ commends do not realize that they have been ministering to Him. To their perplexed inquiries He answers, “‘Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” 3TC 397.3

“In all who suffer for My name,” said Jesus, “you are to recognize Me. As you would minister to Me, so you are to minister to them.” All who have been born into the heavenly family are in a special sense the brothers and sisters of our Lord. The love of Christ binds the members of His family together. “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7. 3TC 397.4

Those whom Christ approves in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Even among the heathen there are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness. Before the words of life had fallen on their ears, they befriended the missionaries, even at the risk of their own lives. Those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom no human ever brings the light, will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and God recognizes them as His children. 3TC 397.5

How surprised the lowly people among the nations will be to hear from the Savior’s lips, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”! 3TC 397.6

But Christ’s love is not restricted to any class. He is the Son of man, and so He is a brother to every son and daughter of Adam. His followers are not to feel detached from the dying world around them. They are a part of the great web of humanity, family to sinners as well as to saints. Christ’s love embraces the fallen and the sinful. Every kindness we do to uplift a fallen human being is accepted as something done to Him. 3TC 398.1

God sends the angels of heaven to minister to those who are to be heirs of salvation. It is not yet evident who will share the inheritance of the saints in light, but angels are moving throughout the earth seeking to comfort the sorrowing, protect those in danger, and win men and women to Christ. They do not pass by even one person. God shows no partiality. 3TC 398.2

As you open your door to Christ’s needy, suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. Every act of mercy makes music in heaven. The Father on His throne counts unselfish workers among His most precious treasures. 3TC 398.3

Those on the left hand of Christ, those who had neglected Him in the person of the poor and suffering, were unaware of their guilt. They had been self-absorbed and did not care about others’ needs. 3TC 398.4

To the rich, God has given wealth so that they may relieve His suffering children, but too often they are indifferent to the needs of others. They do not understand the temptations and struggles of the poor, and mercy dies out of their hearts. The resources that God has given to bless the needy are spent in pampering their own pride and selfishness. They rob the poor of the education they should have concerning the tender care of God, for He has made ample provision for them to have the comforts of life’s necessities. They feel the poverty that pinches life, and they are often tempted to become envious and full of evil suspicions. 3TC 398.5

How to Ignore Christ

But Christ sees it all, and He says, “It was I who was hungry and thirsty. It was I who was a stranger. While you were feasting at your abundant table, I was famishing in a shack. While you were comfortable in your luxurious home, I had nowhere to lay My head. While you enjoyed your pleasures, I languished in prison. When you doled out the crusts of bread to the starving poor, when you gave those flimsy garments to shield them from the biting frost, did you remember that you were giving them to the Lord of glory? All the days of your life I was near you in the person of these needy ones, but you did not seek Me. You would not enter into fellowship with Me. I do not know you.” 3TC 398.6

Many visit the scenes of Christ’s life on earth, to look on the lake beside which He loved to teach and the hills and valleys on which His eyes rested. But we do not need to go to Nazareth or Bethany in order to walk in Jesus’ steps. We will find His footprints beside the sickbed, in the ghettos of poverty, in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation. 3TC 398.7

Everyone may find something to do. Millions of people caught in ignorance and sin have never even heard of Christ’s love for them. Christ’s rule of life, by which every one of us will stand or fall in the judgment, is, “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.” Matthew 7:12. 3TC 399.1

The Savior gave His life to establish a church capable of caring for tempted men and women. Believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown, yet in Christ they may do a work in the neighborhood and even in “the regions beyond” whose results will reach to eternity. Because they neglect this work, many young disciples never advance beyond the mere alphabet of Christian experience. They could have directed the restless energy that is so often a source of danger into streams of blessing. They would forget self in earnest work to do others good. Those who minister to others will not be longing for exciting amusements or for some change in their lives. The great topic of interest will be how to save those who are ready to perish. 3TC 399.2

To make us children of one family, the King of glory became one with us. “Love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12. When we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven, for we have heaven in our hearts. In the great Judgment Day, those who have not worked for Christ, who have drifted along thinking of themselves, will be placed by the Judge of the whole earth with those who did evil. 3TC 399.3

To every person God has given a trust. The Chief Shepherd will demand from everyone, “Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful sheep?” Jeremiah 13:20. 3TC 399.4