I was reading Matthew 25:35\u201336 recently:<\/p>\n
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:\u00a0naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
While I was reading it, it struck me how personal a directive it is. He\u2019s not saying that people should care for the hungry, naked, sick, imprisoned, and strange, generally speaking; he\u2019s speaking to us.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s saying, \u201cYou. You do these things. You<\/em> feed the hungry. You<\/em> quench the thirsty. You<\/em> take in the stranger. You<\/em> clothe the naked. You<\/em> care for the sick. You<\/em> visit the imprisoned. That\u2019s what being Christian comes down to.<\/p>\n
The previous verses mention how people will be separated into goats and sheep:<\/p>\n
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:\u00a0and 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.\u00a0Then 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:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
His sheep are the ones who will have taken care of the forgotten and the marginalized. They won\u2019t be the ones who shouted loudest against gay marriage or immigration or welfare programs. They won\u2019t be the ones who baptized the most converts. They won\u2019t be the ones who judged the harshest those who drank coffee or shopped on Sundays.<\/p>\n
Now the question is whether I\u2019m doing the things that he expects of me, one who claims to follow him.<\/p>\n