The One Question We'll All Be Asked

As we read the story of the Sheep and Goats as recorded in Matthew 25:31-46, there is one part in particular that gets my attention, and anyone who has heard me speak in various Bible studies over the years has no doubt heard me say this, but allow me to repeat myself.

Verses 37-39 state:

  ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

For those of you present during my presentation this past Sunday, I mentioned the 7 Deadly Sins, and stated that (at least in my opinion), it was pride that had an undercurrent throughout the other six. As we think on the verses above, the righteous are reflecting a humble view, one that shows them to believe themselves unworthy of the Lord. They are ashamed and embarrassed to be in the Lord's presence, at which point the Lord famously states in verse 40:

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Recall that at this point, EVERYONE is before the Lord, but NOT everyone will receive the same comforting reply. The part that I find so amazing is that EVERYONE will have the same reply to the Lord, but in the case of those who have been found wanting by the Lord, that answer will not suffice. When they state their reply to the Lord, it won't be with humility or embarrassment, but petulance and whining. They won't feel they've done anything wrong and will have no idea on what account they're being judged. And, as the reading makes abundantly clear, their ignorance won't be an excuse.

The important thing, as always, is knowing what to do with this information. Whatever we do for the least of our brethren, whatever we do not for glory, honor or praise, but out of simple service, that will make us sheep. However, if we make the mistake of serving only for the attention it might garner, or even worse, if we only serve when we think someone is looking, we take a huge risk in becoming goats. Philippians 2:10-11 states it quite clearly what will happen when the Lord returns:

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Some people will be bowing out of awe and thanksgiving, and the others will be out of complete fear and the realization that the choices they made in life will have eternal consequences. In the context of today's reading, we have two responsibilities--the first is to resolve to be sheep instead of goats, and the second is to make sure as many people around us are sheep as well.

Scott