When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
Matthew 25:31-40 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
One of the great benefits we receive from studying God's Word is knowing what it says. Many hear a verse or two taken out of context and allow that bit of Scripture to validate behavior and substantiate how we treat other people. Many times we have heard it said that "God helps those who help themselves." Well, that's not in the Bible. What is written is that we are to help each other (Galatians 6:2-3). Jesus spoke clearly about what He expects us to do for Him.
We are blessed to be a blessing to others. Period. But for the grace of God, we all go the way of poverty and destruction. As people who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we've got to try to be like Him. Before He gave His life for our sin, He gave lots of love through serving others. One of the reasons He came was to show us the way to love and help others.
It is very difficult to pull yourself up by the bootstraps if you don't have any boots. God is faithful and He helps those who need Him and He often uses those He has blessed who are faithful to Him to give those in need that help. When this is all over, if we want to receive a "well done, good and faithful servant," we've got to be good and faithful servants now. And Jesus will be doing the judging on just how well we did in this endeavor, not us.
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