The least of these

It's the Christmas season and so the Christian radio station I usually listen to online is playing all Christmas music. Which I don't really mind, but it does make you think a lot about Jesus coming, and its meaning, and what it might have been like for those involved. What was it like for the shepherds to see those angels? What did Joseph feel as he and Mary searched for a place to stay, her in labor? (By the way, I don't believe, as some traditions state, that Joseph asked for a place only for his wife. Leave her alone in a house full of strangers? Doesn't seem safe to me. And if I were Mary, I would have INSISTED that we find a place for both of us. Just my opinion).

And of course, many songs talk about Mary, contemplating Jesus face and knowing that he was God. And I thought, "what an amazing opportunity to show devotion to God!" Wouldn't it be amazing to be caring for this little person, knowing that he was God in human form, and that YOU of all people got to express your love for him every minute of every day by caring for this sweet little baby?

As I sat thinking this, suddenly a verse from the Bible came into my mind... "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do unto me." What a second.... what does that mean? Jesus takes very personally the way we treat little ones. In fact, he considers our treatment of them, to be our treatment of him!

Suddenly I am honored and a little afraid. You mean Mary wasn't the only mother who cared for a baby, knowing that she was expressing her love directly to God? Jesus takes the treatment of "the least of these" that seriously.

What an amazing thought. Motherhood takes on a whole other quality to it when you think of it in those terms. I may be getting my kids lunch, be Jesus considers that as significant as if I were offering HIM food. I may be sitting by my daughter's bed as she goes to sleep, but I am actually sitting at the service of Jesus. And those hugs and words of comfort, and care that makes up my day, the Lord looks at it and takes it to heart.

I have heard messages to moms before, where people stated, "you can do anything, even care for your children, as if it was worship to God." But this goes beyond that. It's not "as if" it were worship, it IS worship. Motherhood is devotion, and service, directly to Jesus, through those little ones.

While I consider motherhood to be quite significant, I think this takes it to a whole new level.