Chapter 70—Christ Identifies With the Poor and Suffering
This chapter is based on Matthew 25:31-46.
(HLv 429)
“When the Son of man shall come, ... then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another.” Thus Christ pictured the scene of the great judgment day. When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and suffering.
(HLv 429.1)
In that day Christ does not present before men the great work He has done for them in giving His life; He presents the faithful work they have done for Him. “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, 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.” But those whom Christ commends know not that they have been ministering to Him. To their perplexed inquiries He answers, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”
(HLv 429.2)
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 brethren of our Lord. The love of Christ binds together the members of His family. “Everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” 1 John 4:7.
(HLv 429.3)
Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness. Before the words of life had fallen on their ears, they befriended missionaries, even at the peril of their own lives. Those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, 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 they are recognized as the children of God.
(HLv 430.1)
How surprised will be the lowly among the nations to hear from the lips of the Saviour, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me”!
(HLv 430.2)
But not to any class is Christ’s love restricted. He is the Son of man, and thus a brother to every son and daughter of Adam. His followers are not to feel detached from the perishing world around them. They are a part of the great web of humanity, brothers to sinners as well as to saints. The fallen and the sinful, Christ’s love embraces; and every kindness done to uplift a fallen soul is accepted as done to Him.
(HLv 430.3)
Angels of heaven are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. It is not yet made manifest who shall share the inheritance of the saints in light; but angels are passing throughout the earth seeking to comfort the sorrowing, protect the imperiled, and win men to Christ. Not one is passed by. God is no respecter of persons.
(HLv 430.4)
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 deed of mercy makes music in heaven. The Father from His throne numbers unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.
(HLv 430.5)
Those on the left hand of Christ, those who had neglected Him in the person of the poor and suffering, were unconscious of their guilt. They had been self-absorbed, and cared not for others’ needs.
(HLv 430.6)
To the rich, God has given wealth that they may relieve His suffering children, but too often they are indifferent to the wants of others. They do not understand the temptations and struggles of the poor, and mercy dies out of their hearts. The means that God has given to bless the needy is spent in pampering pride and selfishness. The poor are robbed of the education they should have concerning the tender mercies of God, for He has made ample provision that they should be comforted with the necessities of life. They feel the poverty that narrows life, and are often tempted to become envious and full of evil surmisings.
(HLv 431.1)
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 bountifully spread table, I was famishing in the hovel. While you were at ease in your luxurious home, I had nowhere to lay My head. While you pursued your pleasures, I languished in prison. When you doled out the pittance 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 afflicted ones, but you did not seek Me. You would not enter into fellowship with Me. I know you not.
(HLv 431.2)
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 need not go to Nazareth or to Bethany in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sickbed, in hovels of poverty, in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation.
(HLv 431.3)
All may find something to do. Millions of human souls bound in ignorance and sin have never so much as heard of Christ’s love for them. Christ’s rule of life, by which every one of us must stand or fall in the judgment, is, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Matthew 7:12.
(HLv 431.4)
The Saviour has given His life to establish a church capable of caring for tempted souls. 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 shall be as far-reaching as eternity. Because this work is neglected, many young disciples never advance beyond the mere alphabet of Christian experience. The restless energy that is so often a source of danger might be directed into streams of blessing. Self would be forgotten 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 souls ready to perish.
(HLv 432.1)
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.
(HLv 432.2)
To every soul a trust is given. Of everyone the Chief Shepherd will demand, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?” Jeremiah 13:20.
(HLv 432.3)