The imperative to love our enemies and to treat others the way we wish to be treated occur in multiple places throughout Scripture, whether as direct commands or through examples and parables. It’s generally easy for me to identify those individuals whom I need to make a special effort to “love” and treat well, i.e., my “enemies”. I am aware of people on both ends of the relationship spectrum: those in whom I delight and those in whom I, well, don’t delight. Also known as despise, hold contempt for, and/or wish rabid dog slobber into their shoes.
How easy it is for me to overlook how I treat those with whom I have either no relationship or a rather uninvested relationship. An invisible relationship. Those with whom I spend little or no time, either by choice or circumstance. They are the least visible of these in my life.
So while responding to Jesus’ declaration that how we treat the least of these is how we treat Him, I have largely ignored these particular people. Not that I treat them poorly or meanly; I am simply not honoring them as someone whom my Father loves. When I ignore, dismiss, blindly look past, get caught in my own drama (almost always created by myself), I miss the opportunity to serve one of God the Father’s children.
Open my eyes, unstop my ears, soften my heart Lord.
Just Sayin' 