Joyful Transformation

When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

• I was hungry and you fed me,
• I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
• I was homeless and you gave me a room,
• I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
• I was sick and you stopped to visit,
• I was in prison and you came to me.”

Then those "sheep' are going to say, "Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?” Then the King will say, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.” Matthew 25:31-39 (The Message)

I have a love/hate relationship with this passage or maybe I should say a fear/comfort relationship. To me this passage spells it out; our mission that is. You do this you’re a sheep…you don’t do this…you’re a goat. Seems pretty simple don’t it?

Surprisingly the folks who were “sheep” didn’t even realize what they were doing, or at least they didn’t realize the significance of their actions. During this time of year I am warmed by the community’s response to Christmas Trees/ Toys for Tots/ Food Drives and other great acts of giving. Yet often this is done with much fan-fare. People are very aware of what they are doing and they crave recognition for it. There is an article in the local paper almost daily covering such an event. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not criticizing good works, truly it is a wonderful thing. But where do these people go in January and February? Who is the newspaper covering then? Maybe a better question would be “If the newspaper was covering ME what would they report?”

As I look at that list I know that I fall short all year long. But I am resolved to keep trying. Today I will mail a gift card to the parents of a struggling family in Pascagoula. This is the same family whose children I bought gifts for. I pray that the gift will be a blessing to them. There is also an ideal on my heart that I need to help someone locally. (Do I say that I am being “led” to do this…? I think so!) I want to take part of my Christmas bonus and do this. However, I find myself “screening” families in my mind. “Do they really NEED help?” “Could they give up cigarettes?” “What if he would just get a regular job?” What am I doing; being as wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove”, or am I just being judgmental? I have prayed for guidance on this one.

As we anticipate the celebration of the birth of our Lord, let us remember the mission that he gave us……All Year Long! Maybe we could hold each other accountable.

# posted by Donna G : 12/21/2005 07:07:00 AM