For the Least...

 "For the least of these I will save my flock." Ezekiel 34:22

I opened my email this morning and found a devotion shared by my mother.  I found it powerful and want to share it with you.  Thanks for sharing this, Mom!

Hope God may speak through this and touch your heart too~
peace,
Andrea

Back in May I found some writings in Christ in Our Home that were written by a pastor of 35 years who lost his battle with cancer shortly after he submited his 15 days of devotions.  I found them unusually insightful-or else he had a way of expressing them. He writes about Ezekiel 34: 22 "For the least of these I will save my flock."

"When a dog gives birth to a litter of puppies, humans are delighted to see the scramble of the little balls of fur.
 Sometimes there is"runt of the litter", a puppy that gets shoved aside in its attempt to get to its mother's milk.
 Our instinct is to help it out.  We want it to have a shot at life, and we help it to do so.
       Our instinct to help those at a disadvantage exsists because we are created in the image of God.
Through the prophet Ezekiel , God promises help for those who are downtrodden.  We see God's concern in the life of Jesus who, again and again, restored broken people to wholeness, reconnected them to their community, and assured them of God's constant care.
          Ezekiel and Jesus are more than stories of the past.  They remind us that God is still with us.  God continues to restore us when we are broken.  And God's care for the downtrodden comes to life through each of us.  Our words of encouragement to those who are are discouraged are sacred.    Our actions that help others are holy acts.


We thank you, O God, for helping when all seems  hopeless and bringing your instinct of caring to life in us.
In Jesus' name.  Amen"   (shared from Christ in our Home)