Description
Sheep and Goats
Do you remember when Jesus said of the final judgment that, “…he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the [His] left?” It is a given that you and I want to be among those found on his right hand—right? What is it then that these faithful sons and daughters have done that have so won the Savior’s gratitude and favor that He puts them on His right hand? What is it that we can do to be the most prepared for the second coming of Christ? This is the answer.
Given in Matthew, chapter 25:
For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
The faithful will hear all these things, and they will wonder, “When did we do these things for you, Lord?” And He will answer, “…Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
What is it? They are those simple things: kindly acts of ministering, such as giving away our time, our talents, our means, and our love to the people around us each day. They are acts of love and compassion, given especially to the most needy and vulnerable, those deemed the least in society.
Please note that Jesus emphasizes love in action for our neighbor as having a greater power to save us than rote acts of compliance. Treating others with compassion and love will bring us to inherit the greatest of all God’s gifts. May I illustrate with a personal experience some years back?
I was traveling alone to Salt Lake City when I was struck with a familiar stabbing pain in my back. It was severe! It was a kidney stone. I’d experienced this before, and I knew I was in trouble. The pain was terrible, and I was almost 25 miles from the nearest hospital and more than 50 miles from home. Nevertheless, I turned around and started back to get help. I made it, barely holding onto consciousness.
While in the emergency room, affirming tests were run and it was confirmed that indeed I did have a kidney stone – but then the doctor surprised me by saying “You also have pneumonia!”
The next few days are a blur. I cannot remember in over 30 years being that sick for that long. I sank lower and lower, weaker and weaker, until I could not get up.
One day, as I lay there sick and fogged from fever, I felt something touch my forehead. I opened my tear-filled eyes, and I saw my 7-year-old son, Adam, standing over me with his hand on my forehead, and a very serious expression on his little face.
What was he doing? He was checking my temperature. Did he know what he was doing? Probably not, but he had seen others do it and knew this was something you did for sick people.
As my illness progressed and deepened, he came and checked my temperature often. When I needed medications, he would fetch them. And then, when all else failed to make me well, he came in filled with concern, laid down beside me, wrapped his arms around me, and said, “I love you, Dad.”
I laid there and wept. Tears, not of pain, but of gratitude! I will never forget his kindness. It didn’t heal my body, but it lifted my spirits. And to me at the time, that mattered the most!
These are the actions of those who are found on the Lord’s right hand of favor at the very end. You and I both know we don’t need social goats around us always wanting to figuratively head-butt us. I wonder sometimes if the Lord cares as much about what we say and do in church as what we do at home and in the world.
Sources:
Matthew 25:33
Matthew 25:35-36
Matthew 25: 40
Glenn Rawson
