Here's part of what Jesus says in Matthew 25 (31-40):
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
"You did it for me." You see? When you feed somebody who's hungry, clothe somebody in need, visit somebody in prison, or help the hurting, the dying, the people that are in pain, Jesus says, "You have done that to me, because they are a part of me. Whether they live for me or not, they are still a part of me. I created them."
God created man and woman in His own image. When He did that it was as if He said, "I've created you with me in you."
You have the spirit of God inside of you. When you were in your mother's womb, God said, "I created you in my own image. You are part of me. And though you may sin, and though you may fail, you will be fulfilled in me."
Now think about that. If something created by you, a part of you, is under attack, you feel attacked. I mean, if you attacked my son, I would feel attacked. If you attacked my wife, I would feel attacked. And if you go up to my son and give him a hug and show him love and care, then that's how you feel about me. I feel it.
We're creations of the Almighty God, and I think He feels the same way. We are sons and daughters of Zion. We are part of His family. So when He sees someone that is hungry, He feels it. He is hungry.
That's what He means when He says, "If you do this for the least of these, then you've done this for me."
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Jeremy Affeldt does things with a sense of "love your neighbor as you love yourself." He is the founder of Generation Alive, a non-profit that inspires youth to serve others who are living in extreme poverty and faced with social injustice. He is the author of "To Stir a Movement, Life Justice and Major League Baseball." He is a pitcher for the 3 time World Champion San Francisco Giants.
Follow @JeremyAffeldt on Twitter.