Jesus is Not Ashamed of the Least!
How many of us “regular” folks know that our Lord and Savior is not ashamed of many of the most “needy or lowly” folks that we encounter in our day-to-day lives? Indeed, he loves them so much that he wasn’t too proud to even become like them.
You see, God in his wisdom believed that the very author of their salvation (Jesus) had to be made perfect through suffering (Hebrews 2:10). And so, Jesus did not refuse to come down to their level, and to live his life amongst them, and to truly experience what “the least” feel each and every day.
So we see that this Jesus and the least (which is really all of us!) have a lot in common. It seems that they were sort of made for each other. It seems that God has always desired to make a way for anyone who wants to be “friends” with him. And that way was through Jesus.
Still, I think we need a deeper revelation of why it had to be this way. I think we all could use an “extra dose” of heartfelt recognition of just how fantastic and amazing and caring and loving and humbling are all of God’s ways.
Jesus was willing to become lowly and humble and obedient unto death-—and death on a cross for all of our sins. And why was this necessary? It was to free all those who desired to be free from not only the fear of, but the power of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Whoa! So for our God to rescue us he felt that he needed Jesus to be “made like his brothers in every way.” (Hebrews 2:17) God wanted to show his “great love” for humanity . . . and he wanted everyone to make no mistake about who he was (and is!) and how much he was willing to suffer for our sins, and for our sakes.
But you ask, how does this look? “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” (Hebrews 2:11) And I don’t believe that Jesus will be ashamed of anyone who calls themselves a follower of him and his teachings who is doing something for his brother and sister in need. (Matthew 25:34-40)
And that brings us to the question, “Are we ashamed of the least?” I mean, do we really care about the least “human beings” that come across our path, or our TV or computer screens?
But maybe to help us grasp this concept of being “ashamed” we need to list a few words that carry the connotation of how we “regular folks” might more accurately label our feelings and attitudes towards the least of our society and our world. And these words are: distraught, embarrassed, guilty, hesitant, or mortified.
And I have to confess that these words do describe me and my reactions to the least many times. How about you?
I guess I have a lot more to learn from Jesus. How about you?
Thanks for stopping by. And remember we’re all on this journey of discovery regarding our God and ourselves together. It’s more than obvious that we need each other.
- Chris
