Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Not everyone who calls out to me, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. [Matthew 7:20-21 NLT]
Having previously warned people that not everyone who claimed to follow Him would enter the Kingdom, Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and Goats in which He likened the last judgment to a king separating the sheep from the goats at the end of the day. Placing the sheep to His right and the goats to His left, the King invites the sheep into the Kingdom. The reasoning behind His selection is disarmingly simple: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” [Matthew 25:35-36] Having failed to do those things, the goats are sent into eternal punishment.
Both the blessed (sheep) and the condemned (goats) are astonished at the King’s explanation and they ask when they did or didn’t do those things. The goats seemed to expect they’d enter the Kingdom. After all, they’d followed all the rules. They may have recited the creed Sundays at church, tithed (after taxes of course), and avoided even a whiff of scandal but their supposed faith never moved from their heads into their hearts. Nevertheless, they’re confident they would have helped Jesus if they’d ever seen Him.
Like the goats, the sheep don’t remember seeing Jesus. But, unlike the goats, their faith produced fruit. They’d grocery shopped for the ailing neighbor, brought casseroles to the grieving family, offered water to the landscaper, read to the blind woman down the street, written letters to prisoners, worked at the food pantry, brought communion to the house-bound, mentored a refugee family, tutored immigrant children, volunteered in the charity resale shop, been foster parents, or taken cancer patients to chemo. Rather than projects, they saw people in need! Like the goats, they don’t recall seeing Jesus’ face; nevertheless, sacrificial love was a way of life for them.
Both sheep and goats ask Jesus, “Lord, when did we ever see you?” He explains that whatever the sheep did for the “least of these” had been done for Him and that, whenever the goats refused to help the “least of these,” they had refused to help Him! If, like the Pharisees, we split hairs and ask who the “least of these” are, Jesus answered that question with the Good Samaritan parable and his command to love one another as He loved us! [John 13:34]
This isn’t a case of faith versus works. We are, indeed, saved by grace through faith alone. Even so, our faith is judged by our works and it is by our fruit that He will know us. If our faith hasn’t transformed our lives, it is dead. Faith is far more than “lip service;” we can’t claim we love Jesus when we fail to love others as He did!
Being a sheep isn’t about heroic, grand, or impressive deeds. The sheep hadn’t cured cancer, solved the housing crisis, or reformed the prison system. They didn’t do great things but they continually did little things with great love! Without realizing it, they saw Jesus in every person they met. Both groups claimed to love the Shepherd but only the sheep loved as the Shepherd loved!
Sacrificial love is the real wool that distinguishes the sheep from the goats. Having real wool does not make you a sheep. But being a sheep causes you to have real wool. [Hayden Hefner]
The email from my dentist asked, “Would you recommend us?” When I answered in the affirmative, I was hyperlinked to a site that added my five-star rating to that of other patients. The following day, I received a longer survey regarding my recent visit. Once done, it again asked if I would recommend his services and requested use of my name in an on-line testimonial. It’s clear that my dentist wants more than feedback; he wants the public approval of his patients. Although I like him, I like my privacy more, so I declined!
Every morning, I receive an email from a Christian site to which I subscribe. Having no interest in Temu, make-up, or a “game-changer” pen for seniors, I ignore the ads as nothing more than “click bait.” Today’s ad from a jewelry company, however, caught my eye with its words, “Just in: Angel Numbers.” Having missed all the articles about them in Allure, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Day, Instyle, and Vogue, I didn’t know what an “angel number” was, so I Googled it. Apparently, when you see repeated digits (such as 11:11 on your clock, $9.99 on a price tag, 30303 on a license plate, or a date like 2/22/22), the universe is sending you a message! Rather than a coincidence, these repetitive numbers are a “sign from your guardian angel” (or a dead loved one). Supposedly, the “language of angels,” such numbers are meant to point you in a certain direction or confirm the direction in which you’re going! Of course, a host of psychics, spiritual mediums, and numerologists are more than willing to tell you the meaning of your “angel numbers.” And, as I discovered from the ad, once you find your number, you can purchase it in jewelry!
After pointing out Jesus as the “Lamb of God,” some of John the Baptizer’s disciples left John to follow Jesus. Later, John’s remaining disciples reported that Jesus was baptizing (it actually was His disciples) and wanted to know whose purification ritual of baptism was valid. With many turning from John to Jesus, the Baptizer’s disciples were confused, concerned, and probably a little envious. Apparently, they forgot that John’s original mission was that of forerunner—the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah and point the way to the Lamb of God. Knowing that he wasn’t the bridegroom but only His friend, the Baptizer humbly affirmed his position by telling his disciples that Jesus must become more prominent while he became less and less important. J.C. Ryle likened the Baptizer’s role to that of a star growing paler and paler as the sun rises until the star completely disappears in the light of the sun. John clearly understood that he was to fade in the light of the Son.
When considering Solomon’s excess and riches, I recalled comedian George Carlin’s “Stuff” routine. First performed for Comic Relief in 1986, Carlin made fun of our obsession with having stuff. Along with being the King of Israel, Solomon was the King of Stuff. Denying himself nothing, along with his elaborate throne of gold and ivory, he displayed 500 ornamental gold shields on the walls of his palace. Rather than silver, all the king’s goblets and eating utensils were made of pure gold. He had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horseman.
God gifted Solomon with great wisdom and people from every nation journeyed to Solomon’s court to hear his wisdom. Although 1 Kings 3 tells us that Solomon wisely determined the identity of the real mother in a dispute between two women who claimed to have given birth to the same infant [3:16-28], one wise answer hardly seems newsworthy enough to make him famous beyond Israel’s borders. Even the king’s prolific writings and vast knowledge of botany and zoology don’t fully explain his renown. In a world without mass media, what caused his reputation to travel some 1,400 miles to Sheba (modern Yemen)? Sheba’s queen was so interested in meeting the king that she and her entourage made a journey which, including her stay in Judah and the return trip, took two to three years. What about Solomon caused her to travel so far to assess the king’s wisdom and wealth for herself?
Devotions of the Heart 