31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 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 took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you took care of Me;
I was in prison and you visited 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 take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ 41 Then He will also say to those on the 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 didn’t take Me in;
I was naked
and you didn’t clothe Me,
sick and in prison
and you didn’t take care of Me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’
45 “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Read Matthew 25:31-46 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Our passage in this post discusses how Jesus separates humanity into the two groups at the judgment. As I read this passage and what Jesus shares, the big idea for this entry is that the key distinction between these two groups is clearly defined.
The key distinction, and really the way we are able to show love to God is by showing love and compassion towards people who are unable to help us in return. Helping others who cannot help us in return is like us helping God.
The fascinating thing about this is that it is so simple. Helping a beggar or homeless person at the intersection, volunteering at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen, and/or sponsoring a child in a third-world country are all ways that we are able to “help God”.
Typical “religion” never seems to make things this simple – but Jesus does. It’s also so attainable, because wherever we are in life, we can find people who we can help who cannot help us in return. It just takes open eyes and a willing spirit.
The skeptical part of me wants to push back on help because I may be “enabling” the individual I am “helping” to not better themselves. If they conclude that it is easier to simply live off of the generosity of others instead of bouncing back into productive members of society, I have actually hurt them instead of helped them.
The big problem with the skeptic part of me is that it shifts the focus off of me. Instead of asking “What can I do to help?” I am really asking “What are the reasons I shouldn’t help?”
Jesus doesn’t call us to selectively help; He calls us to help because it’s what He would do. Jesus doesn’t call us to “size up” someone who appears to need help; He calls us to help because it’s what He did. Jesus came and helped us when we were in open rebellion towards Him – while we were still sinners – and it didn’t matter to Him whether we would accept or abuse His gift. Is my focus on being like Jesus, or on making excuses to not be like Jesus?
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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