sheep and goats

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

Posted on by Betsy

How many of you remember Crystal Pepsi? Cheetos-flavored lip balm? Colgate Frozen Entrees? Heinz “Easy Squirt” purple ketchup? These are perfect examples of what happens when companies, institutions, and people forget to keep the main thing the main thing. Each one of us has a mission in life. The mission of Colgate is to make toothpaste. The mission of Cheetos is, well, to make Cheetos. The mission of Christ followers is to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked and visit the sick and the prisoners.

How are we doing with that?

Today’s devotional is an appropriate follow-up to the recent one on Revelation 7. Jesus explains a vision of heaven much like the Revelation of John of Patmos’ vision. We are focused again on the throne and the diversity of the nations gathered around the Son of Man, the Lamb. But this passage takes a more cautionary tone:

Matthew 25 (The Message)

31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

A sorting will happen and it is clear that at the end of days, you will want to be counted on the right side. See what it will take to enter the Kingdom of God:

34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

What a beautiful reminder to us about the importance of being the “hands and feet” of Christ in this life. By serving his fragile children, we are serving the king. Can there be anything more important? Can any calling be greater?

41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

Friends, we don’t want to be counted with the goats. This is a good time to do a reality check. Are you giving, serving, helping, and engaging with people who are overlooked or ignored? If not, you are not serving the King.

45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Jesus is clear about his expectations. When people, community groups, and churches devote a lot of time in food pantries, homeless shelters, disaster recovery, and clothes closets, they are pleasing to God. I am blessed to serve a church like that, and we are surrounded by churches and organizations who are actively involved in local ministries. How about your church? How about you? Volunteering and offering financial support to the things that Jesus cares about will usher you right into the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Let us keep the main thing the main thing.

Nope. (Photo from https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/16-humiliating-and-hilarious-food-and-drink-product-fails-slideshow/)

I Just Wanna Be a Sheep

Posted on by Betsy

Matthew 24 and 25 are filled with apocalyptic images and language. Jesus describes what will happen in the end times and it isn’t pretty. Earthquakes, wars, great suffering, famines … it is the stuff of nightmares. False Christs will rise up and many will fall away from their love for the Lord. The sun, moon, and stars will cease to shine, and a great darkness will come over the earth. It will be horrible.

As he is teaching the people how to prepare for this, he tells them how the sheep and goats will be separated:

Matthew 25 (Common English Bible)

31 “Now when the Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.

If you grew up thinking sheep were dumb and mild, you may not have considered that being a sheep would be a good thing. But there is one thing sheep do well: they follow the voice of the shepherd. They stay together in a flock and do the will of their master. They are obedient.

34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. 35 I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’

The Good Shepherd is pretty straight forward about how to land on the right side of the separation at the end of days: we are called take care of people who can’t take care of themselves. The poor, the marginalized, the prisoners, those fleeing from disasters, the displaced, the homeless … the care of these strangers is the criteria by which we will be judged. Are you caring for the strangers?

37 “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’

This is why we should support missions, contribute to food pantries, do hospital and jail visitations, solve the border crisis, and work in homeless ministries. We will be judged by our caring for Jesus’ fragile children. What are you doing to help others? Go, and do it in the name of the Good Shepherd so that you may be counted among the sheep at the end of days.

The Sun Will Cease to Shine by Michelle Robertson