Posted by Dena on September 2, 2003, at 13:39:58
In reply to Re: Mel Gibson's Upcoming Movie... » Dena, posted by rayww on September 2, 2003, at 1:06:32
Hi Raywww -
As I was preparing to respond to your post about Jesus dividing the people of the world, I picked up my Bible, & it opened to Matthew 25:31 - the very passage you were referring to!
It's speaking of His second coming, when He will judge the world. He'll separate all the people of the world into two groups, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, with the "sheep" on His right & the "goats" on His left (being on God's right side is the favorable one).
He tells the ones on His right, "Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world - for when I was hungry, you gave Me food; I was thirsty & you gave Me drink; I was a stranger & you took Me in; I was naked & you clothed Me; I was sick & you visited Me; I was in prison & you came to Me."
Those on His right were amazed & asked, "When did we do these things for you?"
He answers, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My bretheren, you did it to Me."
While He was here on earth, He spent His time of ministry serving those who were suffering. He healed those who were sick, fed the hungry, gave dignity to those who were cast aside, even raised the dead - He met the needs of those with whom He came into contact. He did this out of love for people. He expects, & makes it possible, for His followers to treat others with the same kind of love - unconditional. We show the world we are His followers by our love for others (& to our shame, many of us have failed miserably at this!).
Now that He is with the Father, He lives on in the hearts of those who accept Him in, & He continues to serve those in need, only through us, using our hands & feet & words. He's letting us know that when we serve those in need, we're doing His work, & in a spiritual reality, we're serving Him with our actions, because those of us who know Him make up His Body.
Of course, if I repeat what He said to those on His left, I'll be blocked for 8 weeks.
But, He does warn those those who neglect to care for others in need that the consequences are quite horrible.
He makes it clear that there will come a day of reckoning for what we do, & for what we choose, while in this life.
The good news is that we get a choice in the matter - we're not born as either a sheep or a goat - we choose.
Shalom, Dena
poster:Dena
thread:255020
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20030530/msgs/256356.html