February 3rd Devotion

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 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. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 "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. 35 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, 36 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.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "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.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

When I read this parable, a couple things jump right out. In this parable, Jesus is speaking about his return, and what will happen to the inhabitants of earth, who will be judged according to their works; feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those in prison. He even related these things to himself.

Another thing that jumps out to me is that none of them knew this beforehand. Had they been warned beforehand, surely they would have given attention to those in need. Instead, their behavior was a natural expression. Those who cared for the needy received their inheritance. Those who did not care for the needy were sent to eternal fire. We know that we are not saved by works, yet it is obvious that works is connected with salvation. I believe that all Christians should have a heart for good works. What does your heart tell you?

Ephesians 2:4-10 (NIV)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I pastor a small church in North St. Louis, and we are careful to meet the needs of these people. We have ministries that meet these various needs. I would like to invite you to participate with us. There are many ways to do this. Youth groups, food, clothing, and furniture donations. Of course, we can always use financial assistance, but I would love for you to pray about physical involvement.

Love, Pastor Don