As you have done to the least of these...

One of the gifts my wife and I bought for our six year old daughter this Christmas was the re-release of "The Little Mermaid" on DVD. When I was cueing it up to watch it with her one Friday evening, we noticed a little gem of a short animated adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's poignant story The Little Matchgirl...

Here is a link to the recent animated rendition of it I found on Youtube, which runs a little over six minutes, and is set to music with the story being told completely through the animation:



I hope you will take a few minutes to watch it and reflect upon "the least of these," all over the world and all around us like this poor little one...

All I can say is "WOW!" That brought me to tears, and reminded me to open my eyes to people in need all around me.

I can honestly say for myself that often in life I get so wrapped up in my own self-centered routines that I often miss the opportunities to reach out and share a bit of hope and joy with "the least of these," that are truly all around us.

Shane Claiborne, partner-founder of The Simple Way Community, has dedicated his life to living among and serving the least and the lost. Check out his poignant and thoughtful book The Irresistible Revolution:

There are so many people in this world who feel broken, lost, without hope. We can help make a difference in their lives by opening our hearts and homes and sharing God's love with them- as God has done with us. Are we willing to take the bold risk of reaching out?

The Holy One says "behold I stand at the door and knock..." will we open the door or, like the rich young ruler, will we turn away and miss some of the greatest opportunties of our lives- those of experiencing the hidden Christ in our midst?? The decision is ours... What will our answer be?

Peace,

John