Click here for our social pages!
  • Home
  • Blogs
    • PFP Articles
    • Book Reviews
    • iSharpen
    • Questions & Answers
    • Rubies (Women)
    • More Than A Title
    • Celebrate Life Month 2015
  • WMID?
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Putting a Jacket on Jesus

2/19/2014

Comments

 
Picture
     As we live our daily lives making our way to the Post Office, the grocery store, work and the gym, we often see people who are less fortunate than ourselves. Living in the United States, as many of our readers do, we have become jaded in our thoughts of wealth. Since our poverty stricken would be classified as middle to upper class in some countries, I believe we have started a mindset which causes us to miss the importance of the topic which we will discuss today. 

     In every discussion of the Judgment that I can find recorded in the Bible, there is a separation of two very distinct groups of people. The one, the faithful children of God who have overcome the temptations of this world and have shown themselves to be pleasing to the Almighty (cf. Revelation 2:10, 2 Corinthians 5:9). The other, the unfaithful/ignorant who have either chosen to ignore the commands of God or have never been contacted with the saving grace of the Lord because of one reason or another (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10, Matthew 28:19-20). This separation can be easily seen in this life by the actions and intentions of the individual (Psalm 1), but comes to a head, if you will, at the final Judgment when Jesus will judge all nations by His word (John 12:48) by dividing the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-33). 

     However, our most common way by which we would attempt to ascertain the salvation of another individual, which I would argue is important for us to do since we are commanded to evangelize (Mark 16:15) and build one another up through teaching (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16, Galatians 6:2, Hebrews 10:24), is normally some sort of combination of faithfulness to the worship assemblies and the overall "goodness" of the individual. The same can be said of our own understanding of our salvation! We often think that if we make it to every worship service throughout the week and do not allow ourselves to imbibe in our "pet sin" that we have been faithful that week. But, in the context of Matthew 25:31-33, when Jesus speaks of the dividing of the two groups at the day of Judgment, He doesn't use these guidelines of faithfulness. 

     What He does use will most likely stomp all over our toes and cut straight to our hearts. No, He doesn't use the conventional set of parameters, what He uses is our servitude to our fellow man! I'll let Him speak for Himself...
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you 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 took Me in; 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, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You as a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." - Matthew 25:34-40
     There it is, the Divinely given, although not exhaustive, list of the reasons one will be granted with entry into heaven at the Judgment. It's not what we normally think, is it? And yet, it is the thing that our Lord chose to use in this instance to discuss the final Day. 
"People will not care how much you know about the Bible until they know how much you care about them." - Unknown
     We know this though, don't we? Studies have shown that the more religious areas of our nation are the more giving when it comes to charitable donations (1). We give! I mean, when the plate is passed on Sundays, we try to drop a few bucks in there, mostly because we forgot and that's all we had in our jacket pocket from last Sunday when we remembered to bring some but didn't want to give it ALL. When we see a homeless person on the side of the road we offer to take them to get them some food or a place to stay the night, every once and a while. When Christmas rolls around we try to save up a little so we can help a family buy gifts for their children, not because the gifts are important but the feeling of being included in a societal norm is. 

     But, are we really meeting the expectations of Jesus when we are doing these small acts of giving? I'm just as guilty as anyone else in this, but I don't think so! What Jesus is discussing isn't a single instance of benevolence once or twice a month. What He's discussing is a life of helping! He's commanding a life of giving because any time we give it helps someone else, which was the reason for Him coming to earth when it is boiled down to its most basic form (John 10:10), and it shows people that His followers care. 

     I heard it said one time, "People will not care how much you know about the Bible until they know how much you care about them." So, remember, if you've forgotten, the Christian life is one of putting a jacket on Jesus. Not physically, but figuratively in every act of kindness done to the needy and helpless in our world. In what amounts to such a cold atmosphere, in that it is wholly given to idolatry (cf. Acts 17:16), sometimes a jacket is all that is needed. 
Comments

    Subscribe to our mailing list


    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Advice
    Assurance
    Baptism
    Beginning
    Benevolence
    Bereavement
    Bible Study
    Book Review
    Bread Of Life
    Brethren
    Caring
    #CelebrateLife15
    Children
    Church Of Christ
    Church Of Christ
    Church Tools
    Conviction
    Denominationalism
    Depression
    Divorce
    Doctrinal Problems
    Doctrinal Problems
    Drug Use
    Endurance
    Ethics
    Evangelism
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Father
    Fellowship
    Foster Parenting
    Friendships
    Giving
    God
    Godlessness
    Godliness
    Goodness
    Gospel
    Grace
    Heart
    Homosexuality
    Infographics
    ISharpen
    Jesus
    Joy
    Judgment
    Kindness
    Links
    Long Suffering
    Long-Suffering
    Lord
    Love
    Marriage
    More Than A Title
    New
    New Birth
    Obedience
    Olympics
    Parables
    Parenting
    Peace
    Peeled
    PFP Articles
    Pornography
    Prayer
    Preachers
    Pride
    Psalms
    Questions & Answers
    Race
    Repect
    Restoration
    Revelation
    Righteousness
    Rubies (Women)
    Salvation
    Sanctification
    Servitude
    Singing
    Small Churches
    Tolerance
    Tract Review
    T-Shirt Campaigns
    Unity
    Unrighteousness
    Water
    Water Of Life
    Worship

    Archives

    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.