In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, reference is made to Christ’s second coming and to the recompense that will be given both to the righteous and to the wicked.

As “all nations” will be gathered before the Judge, everybody who has lived on this earth will have to account for his or her actions. The Son of man who is the Creator and Redeemer of the entire universe will then be the Judge and will evaluate each case. However, in this illustration, all the participants have been separated into two groups; one group was described as “sheep” and the other group as “goats.” The sentence for both groups has been decided already and “the King [shall] say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (verse 34).

What a surprising reward! Everyone must have hoped for this blessing during his or her lifetime. But when they actually receive the reward it is much greater than their expectations, for it will last throughout eternity.

“[In His glorious second coming] will be fulfilled Christ’s promise to His disciples, ‘I will come again, and receive you unto Myself’ (John 14:3). Those who have loved Him and waited for Him, He will crown with glory and honor and immortality. The righteous dead will come forth from their graves, and those who are alive will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. They will hear the voice of Jesus, sweeter than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, saying to them, Your warfare is accomplished. ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ (Matthew 25:34).

“Well might the disciples rejoice in the hope of their Lord’s return.”3

What about the group on the other side? “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41). What a contrast! I am sure nobody wants to hear this announcement, not even in a dream.

“When you stand before the great white throne, then your work will appear as it is. The books are opened, the record of every life made known. Many in that vast company are unprepared for the revelations made. Upon the ears of some the words will fall with startling distinctness, ‘Weighed in the balance, and found wanting.’ ”4

“There are men in the ranks of Sabbathkeepers who are holding fast their earthly treasure. It is their god, their idol; and they love their money, their farms, their cattle, and their merchandise better than they love their Saviour, who for their sakes became poor, that they, through His poverty, might be made rich. They exalt their earthly treasures, considering them of greater value than the souls of men. Will such have the ‘Well done’ spoken to them? No; never. The irrevocable sentence, ‘Depart,’ will fall upon their startled senses. Christ has no use for them. They have been slothful servants, hoarding the means God has given them, while their fellow men have perished in darkness and error.”5

What was the underlying difference in the sentence given to these two groups? The answer is quite simple, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (verse 40).

“Christ identifies His interest with that of suffering humanity. He reproved His own nation for their wrong treatment of their fellow men. The neglect or abuse of the weakest, the most erring believers He speaks of as rendered to Himself. The favors shown them are accredited as bestowed upon Himself. He has not left us in darkness concerning our duty, but often repeats the same lessons through different figures and in different lights. He carries the actors forward to the last great day, and declares that the treatment given to the very least of His brethren is commended or condemned as if done to Himself. He says, ‘Ye did it unto Me,’ or, ‘Ye did it not unto Me.’ ”6

As the Declaration of Independence of the United States contains a clause, “all men are created equal,” the Bible also teaches about the equality of the value of each soul in God’s sight. Then, what does the word “least” denote here in this text? The expression, “least,” does not indicate how God considers a soul but rather how men regard others.

How about if we use the word “unfortunate”? The life of finite human beings is always without security and is full of surprises; many events take place in one’s life unexpectedly and some of them bring about unfortunate situations. We do not doubt God’s providence for each one of us when He permits all the unanticipated things in life for our own good. Just as an example among many others, one case in particular comes to mind, and that is Helen Keller. With an unfortunate sickness, she became blind, deaf, and mute in early childhood. Regardless of all the success and remarkable achievements Keller was ultimately to accomplish in later life, there is actually another person whose name stands out right beside hers with equal brilliance. It is that of Anne Sullivan who, with dedication, patience, and compassion, devoted her entire life to bring about such a marvelous result in Keller’s life.

“Among all whose needs demand our interest, the widow and the fatherless have the strongest claims upon our tender sympathy. They are the objects of the Lord’s special care. They are lent to Christians in trust for God. ‘Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world’ (James 1:27).”7

“We are in a world of sin and temptation; all around us are souls perishing out of Christ, and God wants us to labor for them in every way possible. If you have a pleasant home, invite to it the youth who have no home, those who are in need of help, who long for sympathy and kind words, for respect and courtesy. If you desire to bring them to Christ, you must show your love and respect for them as the purchase of His blood.”8

At Bethesda, our “Saviour saw one case of supreme wretchedness. It was that of a man who had been a helpless cripple for thirty-eight years. His disease was in a great degree the result of his own sin, and was looked upon as a judgment from God. Alone and friendless, feeling that he was shut out from God’s mercy, the sufferer had passed long years of misery.”9 What was the Saviour’s reaction to this unfortunate man?

“[Jesus] saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? . . . Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked” (John 5:6, 8, 9).

On the way to Jairus’ home to heal his daughter, “Jesus had met, in the crowd, a poor woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease that made her life a burden. She had spent all her means upon physicians and remedies, only to be pronounced incurable. But her hopes revived when she heard of the cures that Christ performed. She felt assured that if she could only go to Him she would be healed. In weakness and suffering she came to the seaside where He was teaching, and tried to press through the crowd, but in vain. Again she followed Him from the house of Levi-Matthew, but was still unable to reach Him. She had begun to despair, when, in making His way through the multitude, He came near where she was.”10

By faith the woman touched Christ’s garment and immediately her sickness was healed. As she was withdrawing herself from the crowd, the compassionate Saviour would not let her go without the blessed assurance and said, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague” (Mark 5:34).

“Jesus was the healer of the body as well as of the soul. He was interested in every phase of suffering that came under His notice, and to every sufferer He brought relief, His kind words having a soothing balm. None could say that He had worked a miracle; but virtue - the healing power of love - went out from Him to the sick and distressed.”11

“Wherever He went, the tidings of His mercy preceded Him. Where He had passed, the objects of His compassion were rejoicing in health, and making trial of their new-found powers. Crowds were collecting around them to hear from their lips the works that the Lord had wrought. His voice was the first sound that many had ever heard, His name the first word they had ever spoken, His face the first they had ever looked upon. Why should they not love Jesus, and sound His praise? As He passed through the towns and cities He was like a vital current, diffusing life and joy wherever He went.”12

Even when He was still a youth, “Jesus was the fountain of healing mercy for the world; and through all those secluded years at Nazareth, His life flowed out in currents of sympathy and tenderness. The aged, the sorrowing, and the sin-burdened, the children at play in their innocent joy, the little creatures of the groves, the patient beasts of burden - all were happier for His presence. He whose word of power upheld the worlds would stoop to relieve a wounded bird. There was nothing beneath His notice, nothing to which He disdained to minister.”13

Regardless of our choice, we are surrounded by a society full of misery, sickness, pain, and grief. The results of sin are displayed like a scar everywhere on this earth. Yet even though life is truly as Job says, “man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7), there are many people who are actually suffering much more than others. These require our attention.

But how often we do not even realize that those who need our help may be right next to us! Are we too preoccupied with our interests, responsibilities, and goals even to notice them? If we are too busy to respond to those needs, we are missing something very important in life. No matter what kind of position we may hold or how many achievements we have accomplished, if we neglect this vital point, all our success might be useless and even further, we may miss out on the real meaning of our existence.

We are admonished to “watch carefully, prayerfully, conscientiously, lest the mind become so engrossed with many important business transactions that true godliness is overlooked and love is quenched from the soul, notwithstanding the great and pitiful need of your being God’s helping hand to the blind and to all others who are unfortunate. The most friendless demand the most attention. Use your time and strength in learning to be ‘fervent in spirit,’ to deal justly, and to love mercy, ‘serving the Lord.’ Remember that Christ says, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.’

“God requires His people to be far more pitiful and considerate of the unfortunate than they are. . . . God requires that the same consideration which should be given to the widow and fatherless be given to the blind and to those suffering under the affliction of other physical infirmities. Disinterested benevolence is very rare in this age of the world. . . . It is strange that professed Christian men should disregard the plain, positive teachings of the Word of God and feel no compunction of conscience. God places upon them the responsibility of caring for the unfortunate, the blind, the lame, the widow, and the fatherless; but many make no effort to regard it.

“There is a great work to be done in our world, and as we approach the close of earth’s history, it does not lessen in the least degree; but when the perfect love of God is in the heart, wonderful things will be done.”14

Some might say, “I am tired of helping people. There is no end to it!” There are those who may have been helping others with their best efforts, but they sometimes become discouraged in their work because they have not seen much of a result. But let us think for a moment. What is the real reason of our action? Is it to gratify our pride and to obtain something in order to recommend us before God and people? Although we may have labored hard to win some souls, we should not forget the fact that no seed brings a harvest overnight. It takes much time, care, and patience until the harvest is ready. Likewise, it is the same in working for souls.

“You may say you have been taken in and have bestowed your means upon those unworthy of your charity, and therefore have become discouraged in trying to help the needy. I present Jesus before you. He came to save fallen man, to bring salvation to His own nation; but they would not accept Him. They treated His mercy with insult and contempt, and at length they put to death Him who came for the purpose of giving them life. Did our Lord turn from the fallen race because of this? Though your efforts for good have been unsuccessful ninety-nine times, and you received only insult, reproach, and hate, yet if the one-hundredth time proves a success, and one soul is saved, oh, what a victory is achieved! One soul wrenched from Satan’s grasp, one soul benefited, one soul encouraged. This will a thousand times repay you for all your efforts.”15

The time of probation is getting short. Opportunities are passing by. Are we waiting for the right time and enough means to help others? If we do not plant in the spring, we will not be able to harvest anything in the fall.

“As you regard your eternal interest, arouse yourselves, and begin to sow good seed. That which you sow, you shall also reap. The harvest is coming - the great reaping time, when we shall reap what we have sown. There will be no failure in the crop; the harvest is sure. Now is the sowing time. Now make efforts to be rich in good works, ‘ready to distribute, willing to communicate,’ laying up in store for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that ye ‘may lay hold on eternal life.’ I implore you, my brethren in every place, rid yourselves of your icy coldness. Encourage in yourselves a love of hospitality, a love to help those who need help.”16

May the Lord bless us that we may be able to stand on His right hand and hear Him say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, 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.”