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To
Everything There is a Season: . A Time to Weep, A Time to
Laugh.
Ecclesiastes 3
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Do This to the Least of
Them
Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it
up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope
again.
There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.
She read the letter:
Dear Ruth:
I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I would
like to visit.
Love Always,
Jesus
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why
would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have
anything to offer."
With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to
run down to the store and buy something for dinner."
She reached for her purse and counted out it's contents. Five dollars
and forty cents.
"Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her
coat and hurried out the door.
A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of
milk...leaving Ruth with grand total of twelve cents to last her until
Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager
offerings tucked under her arm.
Do This to the Least of
Them (cont.)
"Hey lady, can you help us,
lady?"
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed
two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them
dressed in little more than rags.
"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been
living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and
we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, we'd really
appreciate it."
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and
frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they
really wanted to.
"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is
a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for
dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."
"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway."
The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and he headed
back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar
twinge in her heart. "Sir, wait!"
The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
"Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to
serve my guest."
She handed the man her grocery bag.
"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"
"Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that
she was shivering.
"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this
one."
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders.
Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street without her coat
and with nothing to serve her guest.
"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried
too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer
Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did,
she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day." She
took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And
thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer
noticed.
# # #
Return HOME from Do This
to the Least of Them
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