Matthew 25:30-46
“But when I, the Messiah, shall come
in my glory, and all the angels with me, then I shall sit upon my
throne of glory. And all the nations shall be gathered before me. And I
will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats, and place the sheep at my right hand, and the goats at my left.
“Then
I, the King, shall say to those at my right, ‘Come, blessed of my
Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the
world. For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me
water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and
you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then
these righteous ones will reply, ‘Sir, when did we ever see you hungry
and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Or a stranger,
and help you? Or naked, and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or
in prison, and visit you?’
“And I, the King, will tell them,
‘When you did it to these my brothers, you were doing it to me!’ Then I
will turn to those on my left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was
hungry and you wouldn’t feed me; thirsty, and you wouldn’t give me
anything to drink; a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked,
and you wouldn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit
me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not
help you?’
“And I will answer, ‘When you refused to help the least of these my brothers, you were refusing help to me.’
“And they shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life.”
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
In 2003, I published a book that I had been writing in my head for several years - What to Say and Do…When You Don’t Know What to Say and Do.
This book was borne out of my own experiences with loved ones who were
ill and dying – and the grieving process itself. Many people told me
some version of the phrase, “I just didn’t know WHAT to do…so I did
nothing.” Or they would tell me, “I didn’t know what to say.”
As
a then-junior high Sunday school teacher and former public school
teacher, I also knew that many “good deeds” go unnoticed…and the
encouragement and nurture of others – especially young people - can go a
long way toward demonstrating Christian love and care. So I wrote a
little booklet to share my thoughts and ideas about how to “be the hands
and feet of Jesus” and included some suggestions of things to say and
do – in all sorts of situations.
This is one of my favorite
scripture passages, because Jesus clearly outlines one of our biggest
missions as His disciples. He notes that what we DON’T do in His
name is just as important as what is done. And the point is that there
are countless ways every single day that we can be a “sheep” or a
“goat.” My question to you this day is “Which one are you?”
Ask
God to show you how to help others, through your words AND your
actions. It really takes far less time than you would imagine to send a
message of encouragement or sympathy…or to congratulate someone on
his/her accomplishments. It doesn’t take much effort at all to stop for
a minute or two and ask someone how he/she is doing…or to express
concern about someone’s struggles – or delight over their successes.
Yes,
there are things that God calls us to that require more effort and
sacrifice, such as becoming a foster parent or caring for our aging
relatives. But whenever God places opportunities and tasks in our path,
He will equip us for the mission.
God is waiting and watching to see how we respond to His call. What will He discover in you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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