Doing for the "Least of These"

“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor” (Proverbs14:31).
I wonder how the innkeeper would have felt had he known that the poor couple he turned away from his inn was Mary and Joseph. Would he have responded differently had he known that Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, was due to be born that very night in Bethlehem? Surely, he would have found room in the inn, even if it meant giving up his own bed. A pastor friend told me about a house blessing ceremony he attended for an affluent, older parishioner. When he prayed, he felt led to say, “Lord, I don’t know why you have blessed this family in such a large home in their latter years. Surely, it must be so that they can provide help to people in need and assist those going through hard times. May this couple use this home to bring the love of Jesus to others.” Two weeks later, the pastor received a call from a seventy-year-old traveling missionary, who was stranded at the bus station and needed a place to spend the night. Immediately, the parishioner with the large home came to the pastor’s mind, so he called the brother to ask if he could shelter the elderly missionary for the night. The man paused for a long time and said, “How do we get ourselves in these situations?” The pastor told the man not to worry about it, then went and picked up the missionary, took him to his small parsonage, changed the linens on his own bed and slept on the couch along with his wife. I wonder … would the brother with the big house have hesitated if Jesus had needed a place to stay for the night? What about Billy Graham, or a famous politician? I would venture to say that he would have rolled out the red carpet for these dignitaries. The elderly missionary – who could have been an angel in disguise – was turned away, even though he had plenty of room. Godly men, remember that what we do unto the least of these, we have done to Jesus.