Sheep and Goats
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ (Matthew 24:41-43)
The Bible verses above come from Jesus telling His disciples that when He is sitting on the throne in Heaven, all Jesus’ followers will be divided into two groups: the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left. The sheep are Jesus’ faithful followers, who provided food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, hospitality to the foreigner, clothes for the poor, and comfort for the sick and imprisoned. The goats were the followers of Jesus who claimed they knew Him, but never did any of the above to live their life as if they actually knew Jesus. This sheep and goat parable has increasingly been brought up as a parallel to Christianity today, especially Christianity in America. Christian Nationalism currently claims that America is a Christian nation, however, the actions of American politics right now do not match the teachings of Jesus Christ. I, however, do not have time to dive deep into that today. I have not had time to sit down and put a post together in over a month. I have been very busy, and I wish I had the opportunity to share why today, but, in this fleeting moment I have to sit down and type something out, I want to focus on our individual responsibility as Christians to be more like sheep and less like the goats described above. What are you doing to look after the least of these?
One of the greatest humanitarian crises unfolding in the world right now is the starvation of the Palestinian people at the hands of the nation of Israel. This is a completely man-made disaster, and the fact that the world is just sitting by and allowing for this genocide to unfold before us is truly disturbing. Every religion and wealthy region should be ashamed of their inaction to help the people of Palestine. Brave groups are continuing their efforts to get aid to the Palestinian people. The Israeli military has intercepted two aid flotillas last week, the latest just this past Saturday (7/26). There are several other aid organizations that are delivering what little food and resources are being allowed into Gaza. Save The Children and Palestine Children’s Relief Fund are two of the top-rated charities (according to Charity Navigator) providing much needed aid to the region. Our family has been donating as much as we can afford to the PCRF, but we need to do more. We all need to do more right now. Donating financially is the least we can all do.
We also need to speak out against these atrocities. If Ms. Rachel, a YouTube phenomenon who has dedicated her life to creating appealing content for children to learn from; if Ms. Rachel can speak out for the children of Palestine, then we should all be condemning the inhumane treatment Israel is enacting during this disgusting war. There is no excuse for Israel’s actions, absolutely no justification for this abhorrent behavior. This madness needs to end now.
Do not be like the goats who claim to be Christians but do nothing that Jesus commands us to do as His followers. Give, speak up, take action. The time will come when we will stand before the King on His throne. Which side will you be standing with? The side that Jesus looks upon with pride and admiration, or the side where Jesus informs these hypocritical followers that He does not know them? I do not know about you, but I want to be known by Jesus as one of His faithful sheep.
Common Sense Reborn 