{"id":103,"date":"2021-12-22T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=103&2021"},"modified":"2021-12-20T17:00:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T00:00:09","slug":"how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"spoiler spoiler-style-2\"><div class=\"spoiler-title\">Focus Passage: Matthew 25:31-46 (HCSB)<\/div><div class=\"spoiler-content\"><p>\u00a0<sup class=\"versenum\">31<\/sup> \u201cWhen the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. <sup class=\"versenum\">32<\/sup> 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. <sup class=\"versenum\">33<\/sup> He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. <sup class=\"versenum\">34<\/sup> Then the King will say to those on His right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom  prepared for you from the foundation of the world. <\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">35<\/sup> For I was hungry<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you gave Me something to eat;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was thirsty<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you gave Me something to drink;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was a stranger and you took Me in;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">36<\/sup> I was naked and you clothed Me;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was sick and you took care of Me;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was in prison and you visited Me.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <sup class=\"versenum\">37<\/sup> \u201cThen the righteous will answer Him, \u2018Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?   <sup class=\"versenum\">38<\/sup> When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?   <sup class=\"versenum\">39<\/sup> When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">40<\/sup> \u201cAnd the King will answer them, \u2018I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.\u2019   <sup class=\"versenum\">41<\/sup> Then He will also say to those on the left, \u2018Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! <\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">42<\/sup> For I was hungry<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you gave Me nothing to eat;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was thirsty<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you gave Me nothing to drink;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">43<\/sup> I was a stranger<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you didn\u2019t take Me in;<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was naked<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you didn\u2019t clothe Me,<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 sick and in prison<br \/>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and you didn\u2019t take care of Me.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">44<\/sup> \u201cThen they too will answer, \u2018Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">45<\/sup> \u201cThen He will answer them, \u2018I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.\u2019<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  <sup class=\"versenum\">46<\/sup> \u201cAnd they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"passage-read-more\">Read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew 25:31-46&amp;version=hcsb\" title=\"Read the passage on BibleGateway.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"hyperlink-underlined\">Matthew 25:31-46<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>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.<\/p>\r\n<p>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. <strong>Helping others who cannot help us in return is like us helping God.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>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 \u201chelp God\u201d.<\/p>\r\n<p>Typical \u201creligion\u201d never seems to make things this simple \u2013 but Jesus does. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n<p>The skeptical part of me wants to push back on help because I may be \u201cenabling\u201d the individual I am \u201chelping\u201d 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.<\/p>\r\n<p>The big problem with the skeptic part of me is that it shifts the focus off of me. Instead of asking \u201cWhat can I do to help?\u201d I am really asking \u201cWhat are the reasons I shouldn\u2019t help?\u201d <\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Jesus doesn\u2019t call us to selectively help; He calls us to help because it\u2019s what He would do. Jesus doesn\u2019t call us to \u201csize up\u201d someone who appears to need help; He calls us to help because it\u2019s what He did. Jesus came and helped us when we were in open rebellion towards Him \u2013 while we were still sinners \u2013 and it didn\u2019t 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?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<div id=\"aj-wrap-up--103\" class=\"aj-wrap-up\"><p><em>This thought was inspired by studying the <strong>Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, <a class=\"underline\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/\" title=\"Check out Reflective Bible Study!\">click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p><p><em><a class=\"underline\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\" onClick=\"rbs_aj_inline_subscribe(this, '103');\">Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"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 [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-22T10:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@godstruthhisway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@godstruthhisway\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cam\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\"},\"headline\":\"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-22T10:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":865,\"articleSection\":[\"Written Journal Entries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-22T10:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/\",\"name\":\"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\",\"description\":\"Your Life. God&#039;s Truth. His Way.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\",\"name\":\"Cam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Cam\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","og_description":"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 [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/","og_site_name":"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/","article_published_time":"2021-12-22T10:00:00+00:00","author":"Cam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@godstruthhisway","twitter_site":"@godstruthhisway","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/"},"author":{"name":"Cam","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3"},"headline":"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46","datePublished":"2021-12-22T10:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/"},"wordCount":865,"articleSection":["Written Journal Entries"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/","name":"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-12-22T10:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/how-to-help-god-matthew-25-31-46\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Help God: Matthew 25:31-46"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#website","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/","name":"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","description":"Your Life. God&#039;s Truth. His Way.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3","name":"Cam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","caption":"Cam"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}