Sifting through the Church...

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." - Matthew 25:31-46

There is a portion of the sinful nature of mankind that wants to rummage through the refuse of the church to kick out everyone who is different. Many go searching for the "true church" and spend much of their time worrying about the faith and beliefs of others than about the growth of their own walk. It is, however, not our job. Here we find it is Christ's job. He is the One who, at the culmination of the age, will sift through His Church. We can only continue in our faith to seek the cross and to desire to love one another.

In like manner, our faith and love come from above. Those "blessed of My Father". Those given grace and mercy through the sacrifice of the Son for His people. Those who receive faith as a gift from God. These are the righteous ones. Those given the righteousness from the hands of the Creator. Not for our good but for the goodness of He who has loved us with a steadfast love. So much so that He has prepared a place before the foundation of the world for us to be with Him.

In many ways believers get confused by this passage. They see that their salvation depends on a doing of something. A feeding, clothing and visiting of those lesser brethren. But even more we pass by the phrase, "When did we see you...". The sheep, the ones in His right hand, did not know when they were doing any of these good things. They were just being sheep. It is inherent in the Christian that, as a disciple, we do as the Teacher does. Our fruit flows naturally from the roots we have in Christ. It may be seen through the visiting of the sick, a meal for an elderly couple, babysitting for a single mother, or giving to the less fortunate just because we can. No salvific intention behind it.

Likewise, those on the left, the goats, do not know when they were not doing these things they should have been doing. They are ones who are not conscious of the price paid for them or the faith that leads to life. This faith is what causes love. Forgiveness breeds forgiveness. Mercy breeds compassion. Even in loving one another, at the worst of times, we show forth our faith that saves. A faith not grounded in ourselves being special, or doing special things that make us special, but the Name who redeems us and brings us to His Kingdom. Who draws us out from amongst the visible Church at the end of the age.

TW