Sheep or goat?

I've been thinking about this passage for a while now.  It's very powerful!  So, first the passage:

Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus Tells about the Final Judgment



31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his 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 you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Before I get into what I think or how this is speaking to me, I need to tell you that my purpose is NOT to judge anyone.  Just to reveal what I think Jesus is saying here.  So, what is this passage saying?  Do you think he's talking to people who believed in Him?  Do you think he's talking to people who believed that they were going to heaven?  I do.  I think he's talking to people who are believers.  I'm going to let the scriptures speak for themselves.  These are a few that jumped out at me. 

Isaiah 58 is about True and False Worship.  God is talking about how people come to the temple and do all the religious rituals, how they fast and listen to the Scripture readings, etc.  But then He says in Isaiah 58:6-11... 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you.  Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.  7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.  8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.  9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.  ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.  “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.  Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!  10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.  Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.  11 The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 

Then take this scripture from Matthew 7:21-27
True Disciples
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’


Building on a Solid Foundation


24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Yet another scripture that ties into this.

Matthew 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”


37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, He says:  Love the Lord and then EQUALLY as important, Love your neighbor as yourself.  Neighbor can mean someone living near you or it can mean another human being.  Doesn't that say something?  Wow! 

Matthew 7:12
The Golden Rule

12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.


When you take this all into account, what is Jesus saying here?  He rates loving others right up there with loving God.  He's saying that many will come to him in the end and he will turn them away because they did not love the poor.  He doesn't say which poor people (as in who deserves it in our eyes) we should help, he just says to help them.  What if many people are overlooking this?  I mean he's pretty clear in Matthew 25:46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” 

All throughout scripture he talks about the poor, the needy, the oppressed.  The first thing He says on the Sermon on the Mount was this:  Matthew 5:3 God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  It's pretty clear to me how God feels about the poor.  Does it not make sense that he would want us to take care of them?  Could it be that many will go to church, pray, do all these "religious" things and still not get into heaven if they ignore the poor and those imprisoned?  Let me ask you this...when you ready Matthew 25:31-46.  Do you see yourself as a sheep or a goat?  I'm not asking you to tell me, I'm asking you to think about it.

What do you think about this passage?  Does it speak to you as it did me?

Annabelle - the baby girl who captured my heart!

One day I was reading the newspaper. Now, I have to tell you that I don't read the newspaper. I never have. My idea of reading the paper is pulling out the ads. Yes! The ads. My favorite part of the paper. Well, on this particular day a picture of a beautiful baby girl caught my eye. Her name was Annabelle Loschko. She was a very sick baby that needed a heart transplant. Her parents had a Caringbridge website and once I got on and started reading, I was hooked. They were Christians with deep, deep faith. I was drawn to their writing, their faith. God really does know how to reach us. Over time I really fell in love with this sweet girl that I never met. The prayer requests that her parents put on the site each time they posted were unlike any prayers I ever heard. They were small, big, and specific. For example, after she got her heart one of the prayer requests was..."pray for pee". And they would give praise to God each time a prayer was answered. I began to talk about Annabelle and their faith with my family and friends. Annabelle seemed to be doing better. And then one day...there was no post. And that was very unusual because this family updated several times a day. I just knew something was wrong. And then the post came and I will never forget it. She started out by writing "This is the post I hoped I'd never have to write...Annabelle went home to be with Jesus." I couldn't believe it! I was so upset and I sobbed for days. But what came from that was even more unbelievable. Once again, their faith was amazing! They went on to write this, "We always knew that our little Annabelle would be a missionary. We just never knew how soon and how many people she would touch." Wow! And she was right. They had hundreds of hits every day. The thing is that I'm sure they were in pain, but they still had this amazing faith. Their writing was not of pain, but of hope. It touched my heart deeply. And it was then, that I wanted to have faith like that. I wanted to know where it was that they got their faith. So began my quest...my seeking.

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Oh my gosh! As I was writing this I really wanted to include a picture of Annabelle so you could see the sweet face that captured my heart. Well...I decided to google her name because I knew that the paper had a picture of her. Not only did I find a newspaper article about her, but I found her caringbridge website! Now...I have to tell you that what I wrote about was before I found her site. The words were just as I remembered. That's how profound they were to me. Anyways...here is Annabelle.

I hope and pray that her parents know what a legacy their baby girl has left. I'm not sure if they still check their comments on their CB site, but I think it would be really neat if they knew just one of the stories about how Annabelle is still touching lives. I can't tell you how many times I've talked about her in my testimony. The ripple affect she's had reaches far! One day in heaven we'll get to see that. :) If her story has touched you, leave a comment at their CB site. Click on Annabelle's name above her picture.

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By the way...I have to back up a few years. When Dave and I started dating, I started going to church with him. When we got married we were going to church and we even went to a Billy Graham crusade. At the Billy Graham Crusade, I asked Jesus into my heart. Although I really didn't know what I was doing or getting myself into. Romans 10:9-10 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." So, at that moment I was saved. And even though I didn't have the faith that this family had, I was saved. And the Bible says, that all you need is faith of a mustard seed. Matthew 17:20 says "...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." I think that at that time, my faith was that small. But I had asked Jesus into my heart. And He was there. Growing. With each "fertilization or watering", He grew. This story with Annabelle, was a major watering for me. Although only God knows how many lives have been touched, changed and saved as a result of this, I know there are many. You see the power of the testimony is great. People can relate. It's how we glorify God!

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When I think about where I was 6 years ago and where I am now...I really can't believe it.

Then I was working in the mortgage industry, trying to make more money so I could have nicer things.

Now I am working at a church, and believe me, not for the money. :) I work there because I love making a difference in the lives of others.

Then I loved my friends and family.

Now I love the lost.

Then I didn't know what my purpose in life was.

Now I have laser sharp focus. I'm here to love our Lord and and tell others about His love for them. I'm here not only to take care of my children, the gifts that God has entrusted me with, but to raise them up to be followers of Christ as well.

Then I was self-centered.

Now I am Christ-Centered.

What a difference a few years makes. What a difference a newspaper article makes. What a difference a day makes. What a difference ONE person makes! Folks, you don't have die in the physical sense to make a difference, but you do have to die to yourself.

I try to live this day for that day in which I will be face to face with Jesus.

Annabelle, thank you for being the brave little soul you were while you were on earth. For that short time you were here, you impacted many. And you are still impacting others with your legacy. To your faith-filled parents, thank you for sharing your sweet child with perfect strangers. Before I met your daughter, I had not saved one soul. Since then I have led many to Christ, and I am honored to say that Annabelle had a huge part in that.

Check back for a follow up post to this one, with a very important question.

To live is Christ,

Christine