the face of Jesus

So I went to bed last night with thoughts of wishing I could see Jesus face to face just for a few minutes. I even prayed that I might encounter him in my dreams. I woke at around 2 in the the morning and the faces and names of numerous people kept flashing through my head continuously. I decided if I couldn't sleep I might as well pray. The names and faces continued all night long. I don't think I ever went back to sleep and got up exhausted wondering what kind of caffeine had I had the night before!

As I came to the end of my day, I had time to reflect on what I had prayed the night before. I had wanted to see Jesus. Instead innumerable faces had played through my mind.

Then I remembered this Scripture.

Matthew 25:31-46 (New Living Translation)

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

I think God was trying to impress on me that I can see the face of Jesus in all of these people that I hadn't been able to get out of my head the night before. Someday I will see him face to face, but for today I need to act as though every person in need that I encounter is Jesus. I need to do for them what I would do for him if he was here. My deepest desire is for Him to say to me, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"