Inasmuch As You Did It To One of These

The other day I was sitting in a restaurant minding my own business. I looked up to find a man approaching. My first reaction was to shy away. His clothes were torn and ragged, his speech was slurred and his eyes were blood shot. He was asking for money.
Of course I didn’t want to give him any, but my companion and I both gave him a dollar. Our thought was if he was as hungry as he said he was, then at least he could grab a bite to eat. He came closer to thank us and asked if he could have a prayer. Of course we were both taken aback by this, but listened as he prayed. How did a man that had that much love for God end up on the streets?

Then I smelled it, the foul odor of alcohol that reeked from him. It was on his clothes and seemed to pour from his skin. My mind couldn’t fathom the downfall he went through to live a life on the streets.
I couldn’t blame the manager of the establishment for being angry at his presence. Apparently, he was a frequent visitor that made a nuisance of himself and harassed her customers. She tried to be nice, but the more he proclaimed his innocence that he was doing nothing wrong, the angrier she became.
I stood back and watched, as he walked out. I was ashamed to admit that I was thankful to see him leave. Then the thought struck me, “am I treating Jesus this way?” Am I standing back and allowing him to be put down and condemned by others, without saying anything?
The verse from Matthew 25:45 came to mind, Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. I was reminded that the way I treated others, was the way I was treating Jesus.

Was I treating him the way he deserved to be treated? It reminded me to reach out to others more and pull myself from my own little world. It touched me so much that I immediately went home and began to write a song about it.
How are you treating others? Did you realize the way you treat them is also how you are treating Jesus? Would you be ashamed if someone suddenly transformed before your eyes and Jesus was standing there instead?