Welcome back to another Faithful Friday encouragement. This week think on this thought, “You did it to Me.” These words were spoken by Jesus Himself which we find in Matthew Chapter 25 .
Matthew Chapter 25:31-46 World English Bible
But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?38 When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’
40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,§ you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
This passage of Scripture doesn’t mean that the lack of good deeds will send you to Hell, nor will many good deeds get you into Heaven. The difference is if you have a relationship with the King. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life then you are only a creation of God. Only those who turn away from their sinful rebellion/ disobedience of God’s Commands and make Jesus Lord and Savior are adopted into God’s family as children of God. God’s children have the Holy Spirit to rely on to help them overcome their sinful desires that once enslaved them. There is a desire to live life listening to God for each step to take, because His Way which He plans for us is best.
When we follow His Way, then we will live our life in such a way that He will put opportunities in our path to be His hands and feet to others.
Do we ever think about our actions affecting others? Would we act differently if we physically saw Jesus in such a situation? The King sees our actions, and considers them important.
This set of verses always makes me think of fair trade goods and those who work for them. Fair wages being able to provide for themselves is important. We should support safe working conditions where women will not have to sell their bodies for money to survive. How we spend our money impacts the demand of goods. Cheap goods are popular , but at what cost? Sadly, it’s hard in the society we live in today. There are always people in jobs at grocery stores, big company stores, restaurants that also need to make a livelihood.
Our King owns all everything. We are told by God and Jesus that the poor will always be with us. What if God gave us the resources and money , not just to be spent on our own temporary pleasures, but to share with others? If the King is our Lord, then will we consult or ask Him, how He wants our time, money, resources, etc which He gave us spent? Will we treat situations with others, as if we were interacting with the King Himself?