loving the poor is loving Jesus

 Today we read from theses verses in the One Year Bible:

Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19
Luke 10:13-37
Psalm 75:1-10
Proverbs 12:12-14 

Let's look at Luke. Jesus is teaching His followers how to inherit eternal life. This is a very important question, so we should probably pay attention to what He says. He points out that helping the poor is one of the things that we do when we "love our neighbor as ourself."

In another passage, Jesus clearly says that what we do for the poor (the least of these), we are doing for Him. That's a huge lesson to remember. The way you treat the poor is how you're treating Jesus. Keep that in mind when you hear about people who beat up homeless people or set them on fire. But on the positive side, this is the reason that the church teaches that one of the ways God speaks to us is through the poor. I very much take it to heart when I give a homeless person some money and they say, "God bless you." In a very real sense, that's Jesus blessing me.

So find ways to help the poor. A good way to do this is to carry gift cards to local restaurants (like subway or McDonalds) with you, so when they ask for a handout, you can give them food without worrying about how they'll spend it. 

God, thanks for reminding us that it is VERY important how we treat the poor.