Matthew 25:31-46 - You better help out, OR ELSE!

The Lord said, "When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Help this man~ Help Christ!
photo by Ryan Corazzini, used under the creative commons license.
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This is an awe-inspiring event, one that has not taken place yet but one that will come to pass.  All will stand before the Judgement Seat of the Son of Man. He will arrive in His Glory and His angels, those ministering spirits, will be with Him.  He will place one group on His right side, the place of honor, and the other group on His left side, the place of shame.  And their will be only one criteria, it seems, for either eternal happiness or eternal sorrow: How did we treat Christ, i.e, our neighbor? Having spent most of my spiritually formative years in Evangelicalism, I had believed that "accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior," is the be-all and end-all when it comes to entering the Kingdom of God. Yet, the Scriptures say differently.

Jesus so identifies with the downtrodden, the sick and suffering and the despised of this world that when they are ignored, He takes it as a slight against Himself for all those who are in need are His brothers.  And when good is done to those who are in a desperate situation, He is as grateful as if He Himself is being helped for all those who are in need are His brothers.  Yes, "accepting Jesus as your personal Savior" is a good thing and surely we cannot progress towards the Kingdom of God without Jesus acting upon us as the Savior but, in our day to day struggle on this earth, let us remember that how we treat those who are made in the Image of God is how we are treating Christ Himself.  If I do not help my neighbor, how can I say I love Jesus?

O Lord, let me be on constant look-out for those who are need. For I know I will stand before You to give account. I beg, O Christ, have mercy upon me when I fail and remember me when I minister to Your brothers.  It is only in Your mercy, O Lord, that I can trust as I struggle towards Your Kingdom. Amen.