Matthew 25:31-40
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me....(read more)
This scripture is both challenging and convicting. Jesus is giving us a picture of the last days! The judgement! The moment when we will stand before him. In this judgement the criterion for entrance into "The Eternal Kingdom that was prepared for you since the creation of the world" was serving the "least of these."
1. Feeding the hungry 2. Giving a drink to the thirsty 3. Taking in a stranger 4. Clothing someone who did not have clothes 5. Visiting the sick 6. Visiting the imprisoned.
One of the ways that we can be involved in bringing the kingdom down is serving the least of these like Jesus said. Social justice is a buzz word in this generation. However, for the church, loving the least of these cannot just be a fad or cool social phase! It is part of what we are called to do. Action not talk.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
This scripture is right in the middle of James talking to us about how talk is cheep. In other words, the only kind of "Religion" that God accepts is the kind that is filled with action toward the least of these. NO STRINGS ATTACHED! We love simply because God loved us. He did not say, "I'll love you if..." He just loved.
Buy reaching out to the poor, the broken, the handicapped, the imprisioned, we reach out to Jesus & we bring His kingdom down to earth!
What does this look like for you personally?
How do we as individuals get involved?
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