THE INVITE

Mt. 25:41-45 “For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’”

As I write this, my niece is six years old and in Kindergarten. In celebration of her birthday, my sister asked her what she wanted to do. Being the cute, little princess that she is, of course she wanted to throw a party! She already had a guest list, activities on her mind, and of course, food. She invited four friends, one of whom was confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy. This young friend is in her class. None of the other kids seemed to take a liking to him, but my little niece is full of compassion and friends with everyone in her class. She saw her friend, Drew before she saw the disability.

The parents had scheduled other plans for the weekend, but when they found out their child had been invited to a birthday party, they changed their plans so their child could attend. After all, it was his first party to go to. Family and friends gathered at the park. The kids played together, had frosted cupcakes, and engaged in loud, fun communication, as only kids can do! The birthday party was a success.

Hearing this story has challenged me once again. If a little six year old girl can look past a person’s disability, can I? What about a person’s dirtiness, foul language, or whatever I deem unacceptable in my own eyes? Can I say this is a person who can become what the Creator of the universe desires them to be?

I remember my own story in elementary school when a young girl fought with teachers, students, and the principal. She would overturn desks and throw chairs. I didn’t know what to do, but when I inquired with my parents as to how to respond to this girl, they encouraged me to smile and be nice to her. I did my best. She would still yell at me, as she did to everyone, but I always said, “Hi” to her and tried to be a friend.

The last time I saw her, I invited her to sit by me in seventh grade. No one else wanted anything to do with her, but I asked her to sit by me. What stood out to me was that it mattered to her how I had treated her; with kindness and love. Years later, she found me via the internet and told me she had suffered with an enormous brain tumor. By the grace of God, she is functioning fully today. She apologized for her behavior from so many years ago, yet all I could do was cry tears of joy as I read her email seeing the redeemed life.

Instead of, “they smell, they can’t talk, they need a bath, their language is worse than a sailor’s”; we need to see the potential they have and as God leads, help them to become what He desires for them to be. What is your part? For the least of these…