MORNING MANNA 10-28-24
HOW ARE YOU TREATING JESUS?
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, 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.” Matthew 25:40
An old well known story illustrates our text. It was a stormy night in England in the mid of winter. A common lady was sitting down to eat in her home that night when a knock came at the door. A tall woman in a large overcoat and hat stood at the door, and said, “It has begun to rain, and I was wondering if I could borrow an umbrella of yours? I promise I’ll return it.” “Sure just a minute,” the lady replied.
She hurried to the back where she kept her umbrella. She had recently purchased a new umbrella and had saved the old one, meaning to either throw it away or give it away. She debated on which one to give the woman. She reasoned that since she had been meaning to get rid of the older one anyway, she could simply give it to the lady in the doorway. She grabbed the old, worn umbrella that was missing a few pieces, and gave it to the lady. The woman thanked her and was on her way. A few days later, the palace royal guard visited the common lady’s home and returned to her the umbrella she had given the woman. The woman had actually been the queen of England! Shocked and embarrassed, the common lady lamented to the guards, “Oh, if I had only known it was the queen, I would have given her my good umbrella.”
I suspect that the woman in that story regretted that she had a once in a lifetime opportunity to honor her Queen and blew it. Thinking she was just helping an ordinary woman she gave less than her best and possibly felt good about herself until she discovered that the woman was her Queen.
Her story should remind us of what Jesus said in our text, “ Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”. God help us to remember that what we do for others is as though we did it unto Christ. And we will regret it if we do less than our best.-HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble,TX
