31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’”
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
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. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I 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.’”
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’”
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
In serving others, we serve Jesus. The haggard, the helpless, the hurting, the wanton, the weary, the wasted, those in prisons, those in palaces, those in pain, the sinner lost and the sinner saved - whomever God orchestrates to be in our spheres, we are to serve as the need presents itself – just as we would serve our Savior if it were He in our presence. It is faith manifesting itself in love.
“The awareness of a need and the capacity to meet that need: this constitutes a call.” John R. Mott
In Luke, we are told of an expert in the law asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied to this expert by asking him what the law stated - his response received kudos from the Master:
27 He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” Luke 10:27-28 (NIV)
Interestingly, we have no power to love like this apart from the Holy Spirit indwelling us – no power for righteousness. Jesus’ teaching only causes the carnal flesh to despair. We are not holy in and of ourselves and we are not likely to be. If all Christ does is command us to be holy without empowering us we are doomed for a life of despair and failure. Jesus is the only true regenerator of our souls who can place His own “heredity of holiness” (Chambers) within us. It is God who makes heirs of heaven. Our self-righteous and self-centeredness must take a death blow as the Spirit takes up residence. He must become greater we must become less. Apart from His power we can do nothing of eternal value – all fleshly works will one day burn. Paul tells us in Galatians:
20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Gal 2:20-21 (NIV)
“All along the Christian course, there must be set up altars to God on which you sacrifice yourself.” Alexander Maclaren
The moral miracle is that God empowers us with His nature allowing us to live a totally new life. It is a life of power, passion, purpose, perseverance and pleasure. It is a continuation of the ripple of the impact of the life of Jesus and all the faithful who have gone before us. We are to give evidence to a watching world of a loving God – living proof demonstrating His compassion, forgiveness, justice, hope and care - bringing the presence of the Prince of Peace into all circumstances.
“Cheered by the presence of God, I will do at each moment, without anxiety, according to the strength which He shall give me, the work that His Providence assigns me. I will leave the rest without concern; it is not my affair. I ought to consider the duty to which I am called each day, as the work that God has given me to do, and to apply myself to it in a manner worthy of His glory, that is to say, in exactness and peace.” Fenelon