"Perhaps this is the truest barometer of genuine faith; any
parrot can be taught to say ‘Lord', but acting out a belief in a God who cares
for the ‘least' and who rewards his followers for serving them is the real test
of faith" (Scott Bessnecker, The New
Friars).

So often on this trip I am reminded of Matthew 25:40 when it
says "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me", but I always overlooked it and saw it simply as a call
to serve the poor and needy.  But it is
so much more than that.  There are so
many forgotten people who are worthless to society.  We look at these hopelessly, like they have
no potential and because we see them as hopeless, they see themselves as
hopeless.  Bessnecker says that the true
barometer of faith is serving the "least" because Jesus called them his
brothers and sisters, he associated himself with them because he loved them and
had faith in them when the world saw them as dead.   But all Jesus saw them as was His Father's
children, was that lost sheep that the shepherd chased after even though he had
99 other sheep.  The only thing that God
is concerned with is our hearts; he doesn't care where we are or what we have
done.  He just wants to be near to us, to
all of us and that is why it says "God loved the whole world".  We all know this verse but my question is, do
we really believe that?  We so often say
that Jesus died for all of us, but then we look at people like Boston and Fredrick and see no hope for
them.  Faith is being sure of the things
that we hope for and certain of the things that we cannot see.  We have to be sure of that hope that God's
grace is great enough to cover all of us, not just those who are somewhat
acceptable to society and we have to be certain of the power of God's grace on
his children, no matter how much they need. 
Jesus says "I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts".  God sees people like Boston and Fredrick and as followers of
Christ it is our responsibility to see them as well; to see them, not with
judgmental eyes of this world but with compassion and love.  When Jesus says "when you did this for the
least of these you did it for me", he is not just calling us into acts of
service, he is calling us to love and to let that love drive us into those acts
of service. Good deeds and encouraging words are meaningless to God unless they
are done out of love.  God calls us to
love the WHOLE WORLD the way he loves them, no exceptions.  God's love changes people, it is powerful
enough even to give hope and worth to a man rejected by the world.  God's grace for us gives even the least of us
hope and purpose.  We have to open our
eyes to see his love and his grace upon everyone, not just ourselves.  We have to have faith that God can change
hearts that God's grace covers all sin. We have to have faith in people, we
have to have faith that people are worth something because they are.  God is after our hearts, he isn't concerned
with what we have done or who we are in the world; he sees us for who we really
are and he loves us.  My challenge to you
is to see people, to have faith in people against all odds.