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| "He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" :) |
Ok, so I
have spent way too much time on this week’s blog post! I have researched, questioned, and stayed up late
thinking about it. However, after all of
that, I’m still not getting anywhere. (It’s
been pretty annoying!) This week our
scripture passage is once again from Matthew 25. Jesus is telling his disciples that one day the
Son of Man will return in all His glory.
On that day, Jesus says He will separate the people, as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats. He
will take those at
his right hand (the sheep) and welcome them into His kingdom. However, to those on his left (the goats) he
will say, “Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!”
Umm… Yikes!
As much as I
try and make sense of that, it’s just not working for me... People have used this image of Jesus as a
Judge to persecute and discriminate against all kind of individuals. Other people have faced judgment from others
their entire lives, and they may wonder if Christ will now condemn them too… However, I wonder if we may be missing the point. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus has tried to teach
us that we are already His sheep. There is nothing that can change that! We are a part of His flock, and He loves us
just as we are. Yes, there are times
when Jesus tells us we will get lost, or we will stray away from the fold. However, we are His sheep, and we belong to
Him.
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| We are all just Sheep! Let's live happily in the arms of our Shepherd! |
It’s easy to
spend our time focusing on the evil that is in the world. However, the parable makes it clear that it
is not up to us to judge. It’s not our
job to decide who is in and who is out. Our
job is just to be sheep. We follow the
shepherd, and we live out our faith.
Sure, we will get lost, but we have a shepherd who will always come back
for us. In the end, I think that is a
message we all need to hear!
Blessings!
Pastor Brian
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