Loving the Least of These

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”—James 2:1

All men and women are created equal in the sight of God, made in His image to reflect the radiance of His worth. No one man or woman is better than another. And only the Lord God truly sees and knows the equality of our natures. God does not look on the wealthy any more than He looks on the poor. He loves us all. It doesn’t matter your background, age, experiences, education, looks, size, status, wit, or charm. He loves us all equally—and He alone is the only one who can truly love us impartially. He loves those who society generally disregards—those who have severe mental and physical disabilities, or those who find themselves at the fringe of society for one reason or another. God desires that we show His love to the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40, 45).

And while we fall short of regarding and loving others without sinful motive or without impartiality, God still desires that we aspire to His standard of love by treating one another equally, without impartiality, and without regard to the externals of wealth, poverty, intellectual or physical ability, or whatever other factors the world uses to determine social status. But how can we do this? By realizing that all of us without exception are made in the image of God. Each person is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and deserves to be treated in a way that reveals their status as a human being made by God to display some aspect of His glory. God doesn’t make mistakes, nor does He make junk. He has created every man, woman and child to display His glory through their person (Isaiah 43:7). And in addition to that, each person, in their interaction with another human, shows, by their acceptance of such person, God’s acceptance of each one of us through Christ.

Perhaps an example would work best here. Imagine for a moment that a child with Down syndrome is present. While that child may not have the intellectual ability of many others, the child is still made in the image of God and is to display God’s glory through their life even though they may not know how. God’s glory is displayed through them by our interaction with them. As we show an act of kindness, seek their good or benefit, we are showing that God values them. So, in essence, the child’s life is like a light and we are mirrors who, by our actions, are reflecting God’s compassion.

We are to love men and women without exception, which is entirely different from the kind of love the world gives. The world gives love only insofar as their type or mode of love is returned to them. If you want to be loved by the world you have to value and do what the world determines is good or worthy of love. Not so with God. He has determined each person is worthy of love because every man and woman is created in God’s image.

Do you love individuals without exception? Or do you love based on the externals? Do you love unconditionally? Or is your love based upon what a person can do for you? God desires that we love unconditionally as He loves us. It is only by our loving unconditionally that the world will see Christ in us and others may truly come to know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Amen.