My pastor preached a fine sermon this morning. That happens so often, I'm getting used to it. If he ever leaves, I fear for his predecessor! How will she/he compare?
ANYWAY, he preached from Jesus Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46). If you don't know it, stop now and read it. I'll wait. It won't take you five minutes
[Insert brief intermission music here]
Back? Okay.
I must have read that passage hundreds of times, and preached on it dozens of times. Just this morning, for the first time, I realized what the Goats will say on that day. Want to hear it? Here it is:
"Hell? Me? But, I never hurt anybody!"
In this, the most focused picture Jesus ever painted of Judgment, there is only one criterion for entry:
I was hungry and you fed me, 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 took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.
Interesting, he doesn't ask what kind of language you used when you hammered your thumb, or whether you ever had sex, or went out dancing, or any of the things people seem to think he cares for so much. Funny, it seems as if he cares most about how we treat other people.
But harmlessness isn't enough! It's helpfulness he's looking for. What do you DO for others?
Apparently my religion isn't private, just between me and God. Apparently how I life my life tells everybody what I really believe.
And if I expect to get in for just not hurting anybody, I'd better get ready to share my space with the fencepost next door.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
harmlessness and helpfulness kind of go hand in hand, i think. if you are busy helping someone the time even the best multi-tasker can spend harming anyone is diminished greatly. the difficult task is finding the happy place where what you do for yourself is helpful to others as well. most people don't see what others do as helpful because they want instant results. you know, the easy way out. i want the long time benefit helpfulness. incoming AND outgoing. :)
If the world would take this to heart, we could diminish a lot of the strife against each other. I will not say it would result in World Peace. Simply because I do not think that is what the Lord wants. He wants us out there fighting the forces of darkness and bring the lost souls into the light. Help the Lord by reaching out to the unchurched, the unbelieving and then people that just don't know whom Jesus Christ really is. To me that is what helpfulness really means.
Great blog Will!
Thank you both, Dear Ladies!
Post a Comment