There is a story of six people who froze to death around a campfire on a bitterly cold night. Each had a log of wood they might have contributed to the fire, but for reasons satisfactory to themselves, each person refused to give what they had. A woman would not give because she said she hated men. A homeless man would not give because there was a rich man in the group. The rich man would not give because he did not want to warm someone who was obviously shiftless, lazy, and drank. Another would not give up his log because he recognized someone not of his race or religious faith.

And the fire died, as each person withheld their piece of fuel for reasons justifiable to themselves, and so, they all died. This story was originally told in a poem that ends with these tragic lines: six logs held fast in death’s still hand were proof of human sin; they did not die from cold without, they died from cold within.

It is a sad but true story. The basic Christian principle is not lived. "Love one another, as I have loved you." We want to be loved by God but fail to see God in the other person. We want God to care for our needs, but refuse to care for the needs of others. We try to justify our actions, but in God's eyes our attempt to justify ourselves is in reality a lack of response to his gift of love. "What you did or did not do to the least, you did or did not do to me." The cold within was the lack of real love.