THE FINAL SORTING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’”

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

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell You, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’”

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’”

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we look at our society in America today, there seem to be divisions everywhere.

It’s evident in politics. It’s evident in religion. It’s evident in race and gender and nearly any other thing that might make one person matter.

It’s even gotten to the point where we are divided over which lives matter more than others and sometimes I wonder what our Lord might be thinking when He observes the way we’re behaving. I think if He communicated the way we do, He might use the well known text/social media abbreviation: SMH.

Well, as Jesus concludes His series of messages in Matthew, Chapter 25, the first two coming in the form of parables, we find Him informing us that we are focused on the wrong matters of division. For there is one yet to come that carries with it major, eternal implications.

Think of it as the final sorting, if you may.

Note that there will only be two sides to this sorting when Jesus returns to judge the earth and every one on it. Jesus labels the people as either being sheep or goats, placing one group (the sheep) on His right while the other (the goats) to His left. This is really more a very fundamental division of people into two groups.

Those who placed their belief in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, as Savior will be counted among the sheep on His right.

Those who rejected Him will be to His left.  

Be assured of this. This is the primary determinant of the final sorting, either believing or refusing to believe in Jesus as Savior. Anything else Jesus speaks of is a byproduct of this.

This is because anyone who truly believes in Jesus, and therefore bears the title of Christian, will behave as He did and Jesus would have done all the things He praises His sheep for doing, things like feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty something to drink, granting an invitation to a stranger, clothing a person in need of garments, caring for the sick and afflicted, or visiting the incarcerated. All these require a person to love and care for others selflessly, attending to the needs of others before their own. This is what Jesus would have done and it’s what He expected His followers to do, to carry on in the work He started.

I think one of the amazing components of this passage is that those on Jesus’ right, seem surprised when He numbers all the things they had done for Him because when He listed all their praiseworthy actions, He made it personal, stating that they had done these amazing, compassionate things unto Him. His words left His faithful followers a bit perplexed because they had never remembered doing anything that Jesus mentioned for Him directly. But we see where Jesus clarifies His comments by making sure His disciples knew that any action taken to help someone in need, someone considered as the least because of their trials, was done as much to Him as it was for the people being helped.

In other words, Christians working for the cause of Christ bring Him glory and bless Him when they live the same kind of life He did, a life that puts the needs of others first. The sheep on the right had done just that and as a result, they were rewarded, numbered among the righteous on their way to eternal life.

Conversely, those who decided to shun Jesus lived in ways counter to the righteous. They never took the time to assist people who were in need of aid because they were more focused on their own will and way instead of the One, Jesus, who they should have been focused on. And so with no association with their Savior, a conscientious choice they made, these people, the people labeled as goats and set on Jesus’ left would not receive any reward but rather judgment instead. While the righteous were ushered off into eternal life, those who rejected Jesus would go off into eternal punishment and I put an emphasis on the word “eternal” here.

You see, death is not the end for anyone. A person will live forever in one of two places.

Those who choose to believe in Jesus as Savior will have everlasting life, a life with God and Jesus forever, a life free from every worldly affliction and hardship we experience in this life, a life full of light and peace and love.

Conversely, those who snub Jesus and His offer of salvation will find themselves living in eternal punishment, subject to everlasting torment and damnation. And eternal means just that. There will be no end to the suffering one will have to endure.

Now, I don’t know about you but I am glad I have accepted Jesus as Savior and have booked my place on the right with my brother and sisters on Christ. With my eternal future secured, I am set free to help others find that same salvation, and part of that effort is found in these devotions I am blessed to write.

So if you are reading this and have not placed your belief in Jesus, I implore you to do so right now. Place your eternal hope in the One who wants to bring you salvation instead of judgment, and in doing so, be counted among the sheep who will be led into the glory and wonder of eternity when Jesus returns.

Only a fool would choose the other alternative.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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