Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25: 31-46 
"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.' 
 "Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because— 

   I was hungry and you gave me no meal, 
   I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 
   I was homeless and you gave me no bed, 
   I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, 
   Sick and in prison, and you never visited.' 
 “Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?' 
 "He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.' 
 "Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward." 

Devotion (by Emily Gray)

In Matthew 25, we find Jesus explaining what the “Kingdom of God” will be like.  You see, at that time, the Jewish people were under the Roman Kingdom and were looking for someone to come along, overthrow the Roman government, and set up a new kind of Kingdom.  Many looked to Jesus hoping his Kingdom was a physical, political government that would liberate them for the Roman rule.  What they didn’t understand was the Kingdom of God wasn’t political or necessarily physical.  Jesus describes mindsets, attitudes, actions that “build” His Kingdom.  So we find Jesus telling stories of prepared and anticipating bridesmaids (25: 1-13), a story about servants investing their master’s money (25: 14-30), and this section where Jesus tells us what marks or separates people who build this Kingdom of His.  
And what is it that indicates whether people belong to His Kingdom or not?  Jesus tells us it is finding and serving Him in the overlooked and ignored.  It’s the attitude that when we see someone in need, we do what we can to help.  We feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the cold, and visit the sick and lonely.  Jesus tells us that serving and meeting the needs of others is a way to see Him.  What a profound statement!  
The question left lingering in my mind is, “Who are the overlooked and ignored in my life?”  Who are they in your life?  In what ways is God asking you to do something, whether it be giving food, clothes, time, a listening ear?  It’s easy to focus on all the things on our to-do list, all the problems in our lives.  But maybe it would be better to pause, breathe, and look around to see the needs of others.  In doing so, we can see and know more of Jesus and what He put us on this earth for.

Prayer: Jesus, help me to understand what it means to see You in other people.  I want to know and serve the overlooked and ignored in my life.  Help me to have eyes to see this week, and take action in regards to what I see.  Thank you.  Amen.