By
Allen White
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and
all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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 came 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, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then
he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you
gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a
stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe
me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They
also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He
will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of
these, you did not do for me.’
“Then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46
Some people are
terrified by this passage. If they made a decision for Christ and lived their
lives for Christ, is there some way they didn’t do enough good works that at
Judgment Day they won’t make it into Heaven? That’s not a correct reading of
this passage.
If you belong to
Christ, you will have a desire to help those who are less fortunate. You and I
are Christ’s hands and feet on this earth. God wants to encourage the
discouraged, feed the hungry, care for the sick, cloth the poor, and visit the
prisoner. When you look at Jesus’ life and ministry, He served the “least” and
challenged the religious.
But, here’s the
problem. Many Christians lack the desire to serve others. Their hearts have
become disconnected from their Father’s heart. The focus of their lives is to
accumulate more for themselves and find comfort in the things of this world.
The deception here
is the things of this world only bring comfort and happiness for a short period
of time. Have you ever had a massage? Boy, didn’t it feel good afterward? Are
you still feeling good today? Probably not, unless you just had a massage.
There is nothing
wrong with getting a massage or buying a new toy. But, have you ever
sacrificially given to another person? Have you taken time to give them your
attention? Have you provided something financially for someone who couldn’t
afford the necessities of life?
When we begin to
care about other people as much as we care about ourselves, we become more
closely connected to the heart of God. The “sheep” in this parable are God’s
children. They know their shepherd’s voice and He calls them by name.
If you have no feelings
for the less fortunate, especially other believers who are struggling, you
might be either a distracted sheep or an outright goat. Don’t get discouraged.
There is a way to the right side of things.
Ask God to give you
compassion for the poor. Ask God to help you see the world the way He sees it.
Ask Jesus to live His life through you.
Doing good works
for the sake of doing good works is exhausting and unrewarding. But, fulfilling
God’s call to serve others and provide for their basic needs makes us more like
Christ. God’s Word lived in God’s Power leads to God’s Reward. We don’t work
our way into Heaven, but if we truly belong to Christ, we will find God’s work
irresistible, if we’re not distracted.
More from Allen
White: allenwhite.org
Facebook: Galatians419 Group
Twitter: @galatians419 @allenwhite
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