Wednesday 17 September, 2014

31 “The Son of Man will come in all his glory. All the angels will come with him. Then he will sit on his throne in the glory of heaven. 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate the people into two groups. He will be like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep to his right and the goats to his left. 34 “Then the King will speak to those on his right. He will say, ‘My Father has blessed you. Come and take what is yours. It is the kingdom prepared for you since the world was created. 35 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. 36 I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the people who have done what is right will answer him. ‘Lord,’ they will ask, ‘when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you needing clothes and give them to you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘You are cursed! Go away from me into the fire that burns forever. It has been prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 I was hungry. But you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty. But you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger. But you did not invite me in. I needed clothes. But you did not give me any. I was sick and in prison. But you did not take care of me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and not help you? When did we see you as a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you didn’t do for one of the least important of these, you didn’t do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to be punished forever. But those who have done what is right will receive eternal life.”

I’m reading a book at the moment that focuses on the need for us to see Christ as our Lord and not just as our saviour, example and teacher. It has been getting me thinking about how often I reduce Christ in my own mind by thinking of him as a friend that I can be on equal terms with, only he has amazing power to help me be a better person.

While this idea of Christ can be helpful, if it means that I forget about his role in the creation of the universe or his role in the judgement of all human kind as we see here, I will have a hard time truly worshiping him, because I won’t recogniser or respect how great he truly is.

I do know all these things in my head, it’s just that my heart seems to forget them all too easily!

God, help us all to be reverent and worshipful towards you, and help us to know you deeply, so that we can also call you father, saviour and friend.

Written by Ps. Justin Ware