Matthew 25:35

For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

This makes one's relationship to Christ the all-important consideration; and as he pointed out a moment later, that relationship turns altogether upon the treatment of his disciples. Just as in the case of Saul of Tarsus his persecution of the church amounted to his persecution of Christ (Acts 22:7), so, in all ages, the treatment of the Lord's followers shall be the basis of determining one's relationship to their Head, which is Christ. What is done to Christ's followers is done to him. What is done to his church is done to him. Those who think they find in these words of Jesus an excuse for making Christianity a mere matter of social charity, should look again. It is not the treatment of all the wretched and unfortunate of earth that shall make up the burden of the Christian's duty (though that must be allowed as desirable), but the treatment of "these my brethren," as Christ expressed it, that determines destiny (see Matthew 25:40).