December 2022

IS THERE ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR HIM?

Is it possible that the safest place to hide from God is in church? “In costly dwellings and splendid churches, the rich shut themselves away from the poor” (The Desire of Ages, pg. 639). Yet, Immanuel, God with us, always had His heart open to and identified with “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40).

See the twinkling stars shimmering in the still, black sky. On a lonely dirt path, the weary couple struggled to find lodging, knocking on one door after another, yet they received the same response: “Sorry, we have no room for you.”

“Sorry, we’re full. No room.”

“No room.”

“No room.”

“No room for you.”

The mantra echoed in their ears, driving them deeper into despair.

When they came to the inn, the last ray of hope urged Joseph’s knuckles to knock.

The door creaked open, and a slim shaft of light filtered into the darkness. His voice, edged with desperation, the weary traveller pleaded for a room.

“Sorry, sir, no room.”

Shoulders slumped, he headed back into the shadows where “the least of these” dwell.

Silently, the innkeeper’s eyes followed this scene that pierced his heart. “Wait! I do have another option.”

Every deed of mercy makes music in heaven.

Joseph’s head swivelled around. “Sir, we would be grateful for anything.”

Sheepishly, the innkeeper led the couple down a dimly lit lane, and the stench of sheltered animals wafted up the dingy track.

Entering, the couple glanced around. A cow lowed in the dense darkness while hens clucked to ward off the intruders.

After bedding the couple down near a trough, the innkeeper returned home.

Hours later, a cry filled the filthy, foul-smelling structure.

An overjoyed Father watched from above while angels sang the praises of The One Who chose to send His Son on this dangerous mission to rescue a planet in rebellion. His heart rejoiced when the infant’s cry reached His ears.

From the cradle to the cross, Jesus understood the plight of “the least of these.”

Though “all things were created by Him,” He did not feel Himself superior to “the least of these.”

Jesus put Himself in the place of the poor, and He understood their temptations and struggles.

His own parents, His disciples, the multitudes He fed, and all He healed were “the least of these.” And He loved them to the end.

His Heavenly Father agonized as demonic, malevolent men executed His Son. These too were “the least of these,” and though His Father’s heart was torn in two, and He could not bear to watch, He loved them to the end.

Cloaking the scene in dark, menacing clouds, His Father wept.

But that was not the end.

Three days later, Death lost its grip on the Source of Life.

All this He freely offers to “the least of these,” to you and to me.

While the means God has provided to bless the needy is spent in pampering pride and selfishness, the poor are robbed daily of the necessities of life. While many crowd their wardrobes with designer fashions and clothing seldom worn, “the least of these” wear flimsy garments that do little to shield them from the biting frost. While the privileged pursue their pleasures, the less fortunate languish in prison cells, with no one to speak words of comfort or cheer. While the rich are at ease in their expensive homes, too many have nowhere to lay their heads.

Like Mary and Joseph, the poor still hear the words of rejection: “Sorry, we have no room for you.”

“No room.”

“No room.”

“No room for you.”

In the end, there will be only two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and the suffering.

All the days of your life, Jesus has been near you in the person of the least of these. Did you turn toward Him or treat Him with contempt? Did you give Him food when He was hungry, water when He was thirsty, and care when He was sick? Did you know His name, or were you too busy to ask?

“For the poor you have with you always” (John 12:8), Jesus said, so you don’t need to feel like your Saviour is very far from you. Millions upon millions of human souls are ready to perish, bound in chains of ignorance and sin; they have never so much as heard of Christ’s love for them. Were your condition and theirs to be reversed, what would you desire them to do for you? Christ’s law of life—the standard by which every one of us must stand or fall in the judgment—is, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12).

Children who, through no fault of their own, sit in a social worker’s cold office late at night, waiting to be picked up by their latest foster parents could be seen as “the least of these.” Over the past year, Jewel Lien, Nancy Clubb, and their army of volunteers have worked tirelessly to provide these children with Bags of Love—bags with a stuffed animal, toys, books, personal items, and a handmade quilt to give them an identity because most of the time the children take nothing with them from their own homes.

Last December, It Is Written Canada partnered with Bags of Love, and together we provided almost 700 children with their very own Bags of Love.

If you wish to support this project again this year, please, visit www.itiswrittencanada.ca/donation and select “Bags of Love” under the “Designation” field, or send us your donation in the enclosed envelope; please specify “Bags of Love”.

Thank you for partnering with us to make this ministry possible.

~ Mike Lemon