The Sheep and the Goats

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matthew 25:31-46

A couple of days ago, I was reading a note that one of my friends wrote on his facebook page about investing. He quoted the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. He made some good points. However, he said that investing in people was not wise (this was not the main point of his note, but it was the one part that spoke to me the most).

But if we read the rest of Matthew 25, we see that investing in people is not only a wise investment that is worth the risk, but it is also a commandment.

God has invested a lot in us. He lovingly created each of us, investing His time and creativity into each of our lives. He sent us His only Son to die for us so that we could be saved. He has definitely made a hefty investment in us.

My friend's main point was that we should work to give God a good return on His investment. I agree. After we accept Jesus into our hearts, every day of our lives should be lived for Him. We should chase after His Spirit and use the talents and abilities that He has blessed us with to work for Him and further His kingdom. (Just like the parable in Matthew 25:14-30.) We will never be able to repay Jesus for what He has done for us, but when we live a Spirit-filled life that honors and glorifies Him, that pleases Him.

And part of living a Spirit-filled life for Christ is investing in people.

Matthew 25:31-46 talks mainly about supplying the physical needs of people out of love and compassion. We are commanded in 1 John 4:7-8 and John 13:34-35 to "love one another." You can't love someone without investing your time and heart into them.

I understand that people are a risky investment. They mess up. They hurt our feelings. They don't always return our love. But the risk is worth the reward.

In Matthew 25:31-46, we see 4 things:

1. The Judge Will Come: (Matt 25:31) Jesus is coming back. He never said "if the Son of man returns," but always said "when the Son of man shall come." He is coming back. Are you ready for His return?
2. All Will Be Judged: (Matt 25:32-33) No one escapes judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Matthew 12:36 says " But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." We will all be judged. And how we treat people will be part of that judgment.
3. The Righteous Will Be Blessed: (Matt 25:34-40) Those that invest in people and sharing the love of Christ will be blessed. Matthew 5:12a "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven!"
4. The Wicked Will Be Cursed: (Matt 25:41-46) It is so sad to me that people miss out on all the blessings of this lifetime because of fear. We fear the unknown, we fear rejection, and we are so often too afraid to do what God is leading us to do. We cannot let fear - or the risks of investing in an imperfect people - keep us from doing God's work. We will be judged for what we do - and those that don't show love and compassion will be cursed.

The Savior will come again. He will separate us into two groups: the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left.

Do you know why a shepherd separated sheep and goats? It was because sheep could stand the cold weather better, and the goats had to be kept near the fire.

If we are sheep, and weather the cold, hard times of this life (like sacrificing to serve others, investing in people and risking getting hurt or rejected, for the glory of the Lord), the Shepherd will bless us.

If we are like the goats, we will get burned.

What about you? Are you one of the sheep or one of the goats?

*This outline was taken from Fusion Devotional Magazine, March - May 2009, Randall House Publishing.