Thursday 1, September 2011

Bible Passage(s): Matthew 25: 31 – 46

Memory Verse: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, 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.” Matthew 25:40

As the Lord Jesus Christ was winding down His ministry on earth and moving towards accomplishing His destiny; the cross, He described scenario at His judgment seat to the disciples. He said “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” (Verses 32, 33) To those on the right, who are the righteous, He said “…..

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (verse 34), whereas those on the left He condemned to everlasting fire (verse 41). Why did He hand out these differing judgments to each of the groups? As He stated, when He was hungry, the righteous gave Him food, but the condemned did not. When He was thirsty, the righteous gave Him water to drink, the condemned did not and when He was homeless, the righteous provided Him with shelter, the condemned did not. The interesting thing is that members of these two groups were amazed and wondered when they did or did not do these things. Jesus replied ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’.

Many times we have been visited by angels (God’s messengers) in form of strangers “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb13:2). On those occasions, most of us fail to realize or recognize this fact and so fail to rise up to the occasion. There are some who are in need but we fail to give attention to their needs. Sometimes these people may require only our smiles or gestures of reassurance or words of encouragement, but we do not give it. Even when God prompts us to do certain things for people, we are too blind and sometimes stubborn to see the apparent needs around us. We live in our own little world, oblivious to the needs and poverty surrounding us. We are so self-consumed, running after our own affairs that we even deny the needy and the poor the little space that they even have.

In our nation, greed and materialism has so blinded us, even Christians, the church and other religious organizations, that we do not see the obvious opportunity available to us for ministry and fulfilling our purpose. See the serious and parlous state of our nation. As if we do not have Christians in our midst. Indeed we have many professing Jesus Christ, but this does not go beyond their lips. We pay lip service to serving the Lord! Many will be surprised on the last day, when Jesus will say to them: ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Verse 41). May we not receive such harsh judgment in Jesus name. Amen.

So beginning from this month, let us retrace our steps and recommit our lives to finding and fulfilling purpose. Those material acquisitions will not come to our aid when it matters most. Whenever you find yourself in a position, high or low, begin to find opportunities to ‘entertain strangers’. So that at the end of life, the verdict will be ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’, and not condemnation to everlasting fire.

The Lord bless and keep you, May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace, now and forevermore. Amen.

Do have a wonderful month.