and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matthew 25:32 NABRE
Jesus speaks about the Son of Man coming in His glory, prepared for judgement. It is a scene when the thoughts, words, and deeds of the entire human race are weighed in the balance by Jesus the judge. First Jesus divides the sheep and the goats. Sheep on the right inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, perhaps the Garden of Eden, a special place where all is good. Goats on the left sent to an eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, perhaps where we get our image of hell, a burning furnace. Often reflecting on this separation I find my natural inclination is to see groups of equal size. Ending up on the left or right depends on how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the ill and those in prison. We help those who need help and we inherit a kingdom, if we don’t help those in need we attain a fiery furnace.
A better grouping is the devil and the snake from the Garden who convinced the first humans to disobey God’s wishes on the left and everyone else on the right. This grouping is possible, it is God’s desire (He would forgive the devil and the snake too!) But there are people we expect on the left, some might think we should be on the left. But God’s will is the left is empty, and so it should be our desire too. The kingdom is no less significant if we all end up there, in fact it may miss the people on the left. We can bring that kingdom now, this is the promise of Jesus. We should help people help people. We cannot become offended by others, we must ask ourselves how I can help them. Let’s fill the right and leave the left empty. Love others into the right.
What do you think about the two groups? Is there someone you can help to the right?
We can bring the kingdom now, this is the promise of Jesus. We should help people help people. We cannot become offended by others, we must ask ourselves how I can help them. Let's fill the kingdom and leave the fiery furnace empty. Share on X#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #sheep #goats #Matthew #everybodyalways #god #jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood #dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture #bibleverse #verseoftheday #cross #last #gospels #loveeachother #godisgreat #thisVineyard #youversion #everythingalways