School is almost out for the summer, and even for me, having been finished for 3 weeks already, the memories of projects and tests and final assignments rings fresh in my mind. Life is full of tests, and we are expected to complete them nearly every day of our lives.
But Christ has called us to a different kind of test. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about the sheep and the goats. On Judgement day, he will separate all of the peoples of the earth into sheep and goats. The sheep, who had taken care of Jesus by taking care of those around them, will be welcomed into Heaven, while the goats, who had ignored Jesus because they ignored the people around them, will be sent to eternal death. Kind of a harsh test, isn't it? It's rather scary to me to think that every needy person I meet could actually be a test of my love for Jesus. That's not a test that you can cram for, is it?
But, luckily for us, God doesn't give us tests without a study guide. His Word is our guide, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The more we seek Him, the more His love for others will be infused into our hearts and minds. With God on our side, any test that we encounter will be a cinch.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 He 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. 35 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, 36 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.’
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? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “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.’
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. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’
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, ‘Truly I tell you, 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.”
But Christ has called us to a different kind of test. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about the sheep and the goats. On Judgement day, he will separate all of the peoples of the earth into sheep and goats. The sheep, who had taken care of Jesus by taking care of those around them, will be welcomed into Heaven, while the goats, who had ignored Jesus because they ignored the people around them, will be sent to eternal death. Kind of a harsh test, isn't it? It's rather scary to me to think that every needy person I meet could actually be a test of my love for Jesus. That's not a test that you can cram for, is it?
But, luckily for us, God doesn't give us tests without a study guide. His Word is our guide, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The more we seek Him, the more His love for others will be infused into our hearts and minds. With God on our side, any test that we encounter will be a cinch.
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 He 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. 35 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, 36 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.’
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? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “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.’
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. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’
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, ‘Truly I tell you, 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.”
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