This is a continuation from the past-post. Make sure that you view it first. In addition to realizing that Jesus is Lord, will gather the nations, and separate those that ministered to "the least of these" from those that did not for all eternity...
We talked through verses 34-40 of Matthew 25--It is in the nature of a Christ-follower to serve Jesus by meeting the needs of the afflicted world.
Remember, the sheep were blessed by the Father; they are those that were saved from the wrath. Think through all of the things that the sheep engaged in (Which shows that there was a transformation of the heart--remember, the good deeds come from the new covenant heart). Yet, why were the sheep unaware they had provided for Jesus in these ways? Have you ever thought of that question? They didn't know that they were ministering to Christ when they were ministering to the needs of the afflicted. You see, the sheep had been meeting the needs of the afflicted, not because they were serving Jesus by doing so. When you think about it, because they were serving Jesus, it was natural for them to meet needs. Since their lives had been transformed by Jesus, since He ministered to them, they in turn were compelled to minister to others.
Think through some of the scenarios in Jesus' life. Jesus so identified with the needy because He was with them just as He had promised to be. Therefore, it makes sense for any who followed Him to find themselves with the needy as welll. You may remember the emails that David talked about from some of his church members. One told of a man and his wife who found the joy of giving, even down to their savings as they went door to door in the projects. Another was from a woman who sold most of her posessions ont he internet so that she could get out of debt, so that she could give more away.
Yeah, this might seem extreme to some, but in reality, it should be normal for Christ-followers. The gospel, you see, compels us to emulate the sacraficial giving nature of God. Yes, the majority of the world lives on less money a day than what you and I spend on a small fry at McDonald's. Eventhough you may consider yourself a poor college student, you are in the upper 15% of the world's financial bracket. As I posted on my facebook, 26K children will die today of starvation and treatable diseases. What does that look like? It's like 100 planes full of children dropping from the sky every single day. Think of the horror of 911 and the flights that went down, then multiply that exponentially. Friends, we've got some work to do. Brothas and Sistas, we've got to see the glorious weight upon our shoulders because of what Jesus has done in our lives.
If that is the case, why do you think so many people who identify themselves as Christians ignore the needs of the less fortunate around them?
If a sheep or a goat designation were solely determined by how you provide for the needy, to which group would you be assigned?