Sheep and Goats

Some of what I write below is from my thoughts during my devotional reading...some of it is from coming to grips with things I see on social media and conversations I've had in regards to the current world issues of how "we" should respond to the refugee crisis in light of terrorists threats. It's a bit long...

Matthew 25:31-46English Standard Version (ESV)31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for youfrom the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 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 drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 Andthe King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

This is a challenging section of scripture. It seems that Jesus is putting some serious emphasis on helping others. In fact...it is the ONE WAY he explains that people will be separated on the day of judgement. Seems important. We are saved by Grace...nothing we can do (or not do) changes that. We have assurance of faith in scripture...but it seems that there are actions of faith that signify true belief in what God is doing.

And even as we sit justified by Christ's sacrifice, we still daily sin by omission and commission...we turn our eyes away from the needs of "the least of my brothers"...worse yet, we actively find reasons to not help them.

I know I sometimes (too often) walk past homeless folks, drive by families asking for rides (all the time here in Kosovo), say no to Roma kids as they beg (with the justification that they are being used by someone else)... ...and sometimes I stop and do what I can. Should I stop every time, probably. Can I justify the times I don't, definitely. Can I identify the reasons I don't? Yes, to be honest it's cause I am scared. Not sure exactly what I am scared of...mostly the discomfort of it all, probably. Should I be? No. I have nothing to fear.

In this way, I struggle with the real implementation of my faith. The REASON I struggle with this is that I know that Christ called us to help people like this...and, this is the important part to me, he didn't provide conditions or escape clauses.

But how about being wise about helping others when it could put us in danger? Does protecting those I love supersede the commands to love our enemies, feed and clothe the poor, and lift up the downtrodden and oppressed?

Reading Matthew 25 suggests it does not. We are not called to be the hands and feet of Jesus only when it is safe or convenient. I have been struck recently about how Jesus responded to the threats on his life early in his ministry. At least 3 times in the Gospel of John he continues to minister as the "religious people" try to get him to stop and then WALKS AWAY from the situation when they begin to get violent. He doesn't fight back...he also doesn't seem to put his disciples in danger...so I DON'T KNOW...

The reality of this, is that the politics of it all are a smokescreen that distract us all from the spiritual needs and demands on our life. We focus so much on fighting the physical battles that we might end up missing opportunities to point people to Jesus.

Yes, there are people out there who want to kill us. Of course there are...the evil one thrives on death. This is his thing. It is all he has. The good news...those who believe in HIM are guaranteed life by the creator and sustainer of life. That is good news indeed. We don't need to fear death. And we don't chase after death either. We should be advocating for life at all times, in all things.

And this sounds harsh...but if we (as believers) are calling for, approving of, or causing the death of our enemies, then I don't think we are reflecting the love of God. I cringe every time I see followers of Christ post the Putin "quote" (which, "surprisingly", was a false piece of news, he never said it) “To forgive the terrorists is up to god, to send them to him is up to me.”  That is NOT THE GOSPEL. If you're a believer and you "share" or "like" posts that reflect such a worldview PLEASE STOP!! NOW. I love you, but you're wrong. And you're not helping.

As followers of Christ it is our right and privilege to forgive because Christ first forgave us. Actually, no...it's more than that. We have no other option but to forgive...

I hope that in all we do...in ALL we do...we can point people to the love and grace of Jesus. That's all that matters. Really. And remember, this is a grace that we didn't deserve. Don't kid yourself into thinking you've done anything on your own that removes your enemy of God label. Because we ourselves were (and sometimes still are) enemies of God. And despite all that, He died FOR us...not because we showed any sign of deserving it or prior rehabilitation, but because HE desired a relationship with us, saw us drowning in our sin and unbelief, and then reached down to pull us out of our condemnation.