Would you recognize Jesus?

In Matthew 24-25 Jesus is on the Mount of Olives with his disciples.  He is about to be betrayed and crucified.  Jesus is asked in chapter 24, "How will we recognize the end times?"  In verse 23 He tells us that if anyone says to us here is Christ or there is Christ, don't believe them.  He continues in verse 26 to tell us not to even bother going to look for Him.  The question then is, "How do we recognize Christ?"

Jesus goes on to tell several parables regarding the end times.  Then in chapter 25 verse 31 He begins talking about dividing the sheep from the goats, or the saved from the lost.  He begins with the sheep.  He tells them when He was hungry, they fed Him.  When He was naked, they gave Him clothes.  When he was thirsty, they gave him drink.  When he was sick, they visited him, and when he was in prison, they came to him.  One thing that strikes me as strange about this passage is that Christ was never in prison, and the disciples must have been curious about this themselves, I think. But the next part has always amazed me, the saved then ask when did we do all those things to You?  It is like they have no clue that they had even seen the King and helped him.  To them, they were just going about their daily lives.  What does the King say?  When they had done it to the least of these they had done it to Him.

Then Jesus talks to the goats.  He sends them to eternal punishment because they had not clothed him, they had not visited him when he was in prison, they did not take him in when he was a stranger.  And look at their reply.  It was exactly the same as the sheep.  They thought they hadn't even had the opportunity to do those things for Him, and he says to them if you didn't do it to the least of these, they didn't do it to Him.

Now I don't believe the Bible is saying we get to Heaven by works.  I believe this passage is reiterating what Matthew says earlier in John 7:20, "By their fruits ye shall know them."  But that is not the point I'm trying to make.

My question for myself and for you is, Would you recognize Jesus if you saw Him?  Have you looked around recently?  I have. I've seen Him in the faces of people where I volunteer.  I've seen Him in the guy on the side of the road asking for a handout.  I've seen Him in the children who need their diapers changed at church.  How about you?  I know what you may be thinking...If I give that guy money, he'll just go buy cigarettes or beer.  Those homeless people are just out looking for what they can get from anyone who will feel sorry for them.  I work hard for my money.

I may get in trouble for what I am about to say, but hear me out.  It's true that guy may go buy cigarettes or beer.  He might even buy drugs with it.  So what?  He has an addiction, does that mean God doesn't love him as much as He loves you?  Or that you are better than someone else because you are somehow not addicted to those things?  I understand you may not want your money being spent on something illegal, but once you give it, it isn't yours any more.  Some of those homeless people may just be using people and not really want to better themselves.  So what?  Is it up to you to judge them for that?  You don't know why they are in the place they are.  You don't know what got them there or what you would be doing if you were in their shoes.  None of that is the point.

The point is that helping another person changes you. They say prayer doesn't change God. It changes you. I get the point of that saying, but giving $5 to the guy holding a sign at the exit ramp won't change his life in huge ways.  But it will change you, and the more you do it, and the less you judge how and why the guy got to where he is, the more you will change.  Try it.  Who know you may even see Jesus yourself.