Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All 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. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"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.'
41"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. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I 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.'
44"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?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew writes about our judgment day...Jesus tells us in this parable that the Son of Man will come into His glory with all the angels...Jesus will sit in His heavenly throne and glory...All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate the people from one another, like the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats...The sheep on the right and the goats on the left...
Like the sheep and goats, the Son of Man is making a distinction between good and evil...Jesus proceeds to tell us what is good and what is bad...The good is those that fed the hungry, when they were hungry...The good have given the stranger a drink when he was thirsty...The good has invited the stranger in...The good has clothed those who needed clothes...The good knows one in prison and has visited him...
I must admit that I am failing my LORD...I read about and see people hungry everyday...I have seen homeless and would not invite them in, because I do not know them or their backgrounds...I do not know anything about them...I have not visited those in prison, because again, this would make me anxious, is inconvenient, and is uncomfortable...I know after reading the Bible, I have failed my LORD...I fall more than short of the LORD...
It seems to me that besides anxious, inconvenient, uncomfortable, I must add that I am selfish...This is one characteristic that Jesus teaches against...He rightfully teaches love and sharing with your neighbor...I wonder sometimes if God makes us selfish, with a purpose, in mind, or am I different and when I started out in my youth, for some reason I have grown to be selfish...In the end, regardless the Bible teaches me to share...God has given me a conscious, and I now that sharing is the right thing to do...
I know, I cannot compare myself to St. Paul...He seems such a great man, helper and minister to the Gentiles...He helps me in his letter to the Romans 7:21-25...St. Paul says in Romans, "what a wretched man I am, thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our LORD"...I want to do good and think about doing good, but I don't, and I really don't know why...I know Jesus teachings are good and righteous...It seems (and I know) I am a slave to sin...
I know from St. Paul that I am a slave to sin, but also a slave to Jesus' teachings and the Gospel...I will be saved only by God's grace...I thank God for Christianity...Jesus tells us He did not come for the righteous, but comes for people like me, sinners...Sick people need doctors...Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:17)...I know calling is no enough (St. James book makes this clear)...But the Bible gives me hope...There are answers...They are the Father and Son...The Father and Son live in eternity...They await and it is where all people will be gathered...Jesus will separate those on the right and those on the left... Without question, I need Jesus...Without question, I need and pray for God's grace...