The two polite children could not work out why Miriam and I were feeding Peter and his dog Romeo on Preston High Street. In a brief glance I noticed the primary school boys re-thinking the word “normal” as we embarked on a normal conversation with the homeless man and his wonderful canine friend. The saddest thing of all was not that their parents hurried them away from our attempts at being kind, but the fact that the confused looks which were painted across their perfectly formed faces was one which I have seen on my chops many times…this year.

Before you ordain me for my humility, I am the biggest sceptic to acts of kindness. I become more of a sceptic when I see Christians thinking they can “change the world” by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and caring for the sick. My default reaction is usually: ”What’s the point?” I know that Jesus talked a lot about doing these three things, but isn’t it enough that I just have any faith at all in this country which is looking to delete the bible from its shores?

At this point in my blog I usually cannot resist pampering everything up in a bid to draw you in with analogies, metaphors and a noteworthy flair. But loving the poor is one of the most stark commands the Lord Jesus gave to each of his followers for this day and age.

Awkwardly, you will find in Matthew 25 Jesus going on about it. He said: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you cam to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Men of Britain, there are some really decent lads on our streets who need us to step up and give them a cheese salad baguette every now and then. And we should do this not just because our Lord commands us to, but because it’s a great laugh when two posh kids have to re-think what their champagne-parents have told them. Go confuse people with the things of Jesus and post them on here to encourage us.

Peace