April 14 - Cindy Mah
Loving the Least
When I worked as a substitute teacher I sometimes work with autistic students. One time I was among a few Special Ed teachers working with a group of autistic middle school students in home economics, when a girl name Myra (not her real name) just had a meltdown. She threw this huge container of cinnamon across the room and started to scream out of control. We did not know what set her off. We had cinnamon all over the place. I had it in my hair and on my clothes since the container went over my head. That day I went home smelling like cinnamon (glad it was not garlic powder that was thrown!) I found myself praying for the Special Ed teachers, all the autistic students and their parents.
Perhaps it was because of my prayers the Lord led me to Melissa (not real name) Myra’s twin sister who was in a different middle school. When I first saw Melissa, I thought to myself, this girl looks exactly like Myra. But in a conversation with Melissa, she told me that she had a twin sister who went to another school. Okay mystery solved; I am not losing my mind. Melissa was also autistic but she was high functioning so she was in a different program; thus in a different school.
During gym time I sat next to Melissa on the bench, we were by ourselves. Melissa sat there drawing in her book. She drew beautifully… then just out of the blue, she asked me “If you die in an accident do you go to heaven?” I was caught off guard and did not answer her right away so she repeated her question “If you die tragically do you go to heaven?” I answered her “You go to heaven if you know Jesus.” Melissa was quiet and kept drawing. I then asked her “Do you know Jesus?” In a matter-of-fact tone, Melissa said “Oh yeah, I know Jesus.” How do you know Jesus?” I asked, “from church” she replied.
How great of a love our heavenly Father has for this autistic girl that He would send me to answer her question according to His word. I can only guess that any other teacher would have just told her the world’s mantra that everyone goes go to heaven if they die. God orchestrated this encounter just to address the fears in her heart, she is precious to Him. The world sees her differently, because of her disabilities she may be considered as the least.
From my teaching experiences, I realize that those who are the most difficult: the dysfunctional out of control kids, the developmental and emotionally challenged ones, those we find hardest to love are the ones that need our love the most. We tend to look at challenging people as problems to be solved rather than people to be loved for Jesus' sake. Do we see them as Jesus would or do we rate their value base on how they make us feel?
The Lord uses the least, those deemed insignificant and the unlovable people in our lives to perfect our imperfect love (1 Jn 4:12). If we only love those who love us, that’s not love its self-worship. The love that Jesus calls us to it's neither convenient nor comfortable. When we dare to love the way He loves, it’s going to be dangerous and it’s going to hurt. God has to first break our hearts that we may love like Him.
“…to the extent that you did it to one of these… even the least of them you did it to me” Matt 25:40
May we love the least of them in Jesus' name.