Friday, November 14, 2008

(D-77) How to be Blessed when He returns...

(Matt. 25:31-40)

The subject passage depicts the scene of the Son of Man returning with his angels and separating the people of all nations.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shephered separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." (:31-33)

Then, the King or the Son of Man explains to those on his right that they are blessed because they helped the King who was referred to as the poor, the oppressed, the lonely, the sick, and the needy.

"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.'"

The righteous could not recall when they were showing the hospitality to the King. So they asked the King when they did that to him.
"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'"

Our Lord has the genuine concern for the least of the brothers of his; the poorest of the poor and the lonelist of the lonely. He is thus expecting his people to share his concern and to help the poor and the lonely with genuine caring heart. If we do not care for the needy in action, he is warning us in the scripture following the passage above that we may not even inherit the Kingdom. What a strong message! This passage has made me look back my life and realize how little concern I have had on the needy to date. It was this passage that has made me decide to help serve the poorest of the poor in a foreign country.

Please pray that:
* we sincerely share the concern of the Lord for the poor and the lonely;
* we will have our genuine heart for the poor and the lonely; and
* we will have this compassionate heart for the people of Rwanda.

Praise the Lord who has the concern for the poor and who has revealed to us his intent to bless those who share his concern! - Jeffrey

No comments: