In my Bible study this morning, I studied Matthew 25:31-46
“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 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. 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.’
“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.”
It is very humbling to think about. Today, most people focus on helping themselves and sometimes their friends and family, but a stranger….rarely
a stranger. We should be helping, giving, ministering to everyone, friends and
strangers alike. Are you a sheep or a goat?
