49 - Matthew 25:45

’Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.’ -Matthew 25:45. In the account of what the King will say in the day that he is seen sitting on the throne with all nations before him, it may be said that we have the Gospel according to Christ. It is the Gospel that is to judge men at the last day. It is most interesting to see what it is that Christ selects for the final test of discipleship. It is love to himself shown in love to the least of his people. The absence of kindly feelings towards the least of his disciples will be found a sufficient and perfectly safe ground of condemnation. And who are meant by the least? Those who are regarded as of least importance, by reason of their social position, their denominational connection, their lack of Christian attainments, their deficiency of intelligence. It is obvious that a number of circumstances may combine to attract us towards those who belong to the same Christian communion, or who enjoy consideration in the Church because of their abilities and their influence, and therefore the kindly acts that we may show such are an inadequate criterion. But where the circumstances are such as tend naturally to estrange us from the Christians in need, and there is only the one bare fact that they are Christians in need, to draw us to them, there we have a crucial test. It is in the presence of unfavourable circumstances, in the face of much that would chill, that the pure sentiment of love to Christ vindicates itself triumphantly. This then is the uppermost consideration in Christ’s mind; this is the way in which he is seeking to lead his people. If we ourselves are aiming at something aside from this, it is evident that we are missing the grand evidence of discipleship, and exposing ourselves to deadly peril. Where are the denominations in this august scene? Where are gathered together the Episcopalians? Where the Presbyterians? Where the Baptists? Where the Methodists? Where the Independents? Where this, where that minor division of the Church? Ah, there is not a word here of denominationalism. There is no ’Come up hither’ addressed to the Established Church; no place of honour assigned to the Dissenter, as such. All your fancied advantages on the score of your particular communion, all that fed your self-complacency in your church habits, etc., vanishes from sight. The one inquiry is for loving services rendered to those whom Christ loves. From the excessive regard shown by some in these days to the subject of worship, and especially to accessories of worship, to a multitude of forms which have not in them any essential element of worship, to Ritual and the Sacrament, one would suppose that they entertained the idea that this sort of thing would be the crucial test of the judgment, and that Christ would say, ’Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, for you offered up the frequent sacrifice of my body and blood, you recognised my objective presence in the elements, you prostrated yourselves with lowly devotion before me thus present, you worshipped me with postures, and crossings, and costumes, and colours.’ For there are many who evidently consider these the great things in Christianity. They fancy that they are giving a sufficient proof of love to Christ by their system of worship, and by keeping well aloof from Christians of ’the sects.’ But alas! unless they can adduce very different evidence of love to Christ from this, it will go hard with them; they shall hear the awful words, ’Depart from me.’

’This is my commandment, that ye love one another. This is the great commandment of the Gospel. Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another. Not love to the members of the communion which you have so nicely separated from the common body of Christians: but love to all that love me.’ There are some who seem to expect that they shall be recognised as Christ’s in the last day, on the ground that they have charity enough to think hopefully of all the world; and that Christ will say to them, ’Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, for you would not believe that men were in danger of being lost, and despised the charity which seeks to be helpful, preferring that which flatters itself that all is well.’ Their Christ was one who could not possibly say unto any, ’Depart from me, ye cursed.’ They found more benignity in themselves than in such a Christ. Well, they shall hear this word ’cursed;’ and they shall pronounce it upon that very benignity of theirs which fought against the true Christ and his salvation.

It does not appear that we shall have a better opportunity of showing love to Christ in heaven than we have here. Here we can wash his feet, give him food to eat, raiment to put on, can visit him in prison or in the hospital, give him our sympathy, our time, our substance, our industry, give him with the sweat of our brow, give him with anguish of spirit. Wherever there are brethren in tribulation, there we can minister to him. If we truly know him, we shall recognise his lineaments even where there is a good deal to obscure them. If we know not the Christ of the Gospel, we shall stand aloof from the least of his brethren, and devise some comfortable or ornate way of our own to show our love. "Inasmuch as ye did it not." Ah! that terrible word, Not.