A MINISTRY TO THE POOR When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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.’ (Matthew 25:31-36, ESV) Jesus provides a vivid and explicit picture of how when He returns to finally establish His kingdom he will separate people “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” His litmus test to determine whether we’re truly part of His kingdom seems simple and clear: however we treat the least of these- the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, sick, and imprisoned- is how we treat Him. We can see how we respond to the least of these and know whether the good news of God’s kingdom took root in our lives. During His earthly Jesus ministry, Jesus and His followers constantly pursued those who seemed far from God and forgotten by society. As His followers, He calls us to do the same today. We can choose to ignore those people in the world around us and miss an amazing opportunity to experience Jesus. Here are some questions to ask yourself: Who are the least of these in your community? How do you personally respond to those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, sick, and imprisoned? How do you think our response to the least of these reveals whether we’re truly part of God’s kingdom?
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 02:27:14 +0000
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