This is the 18th post as
I attempt to visit everything (pretty much!) Jesus said about money in the
gospels over 2 weeks. In order to do this I will be putting up around two posts
each day. This is coinciding with a 2-week preaching series that we are going
through at Community Church Putney- Jesus On Money.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. He will put the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left.
“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. 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, 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.’
“Then the righteous will answer him,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or
needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to
visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me…”’
(
This section leads on
from the last post. In this chapter Jesus is talking about being prepared for
final judgment- we are to be like the ‘wise virgins’, those who invest their
‘talents’ and like sheep rather than goats.
How do we know if we are
sheep and will therefore inherit eternal life?
Jesus on money teaches us that how
we use our money is an indicator of our identity as sheep or goats; if we are
hard-hearted and unmerciful it points our not being children of God; if we are
merciful in the use of our resources it is an indicator that we are God’s
children.
As John wrote,
‘We know that we have
passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not
love remains in death.’ (1 John 3:14)
Wayne Grudem speaks of
this new life,
‘God through the Holy Spirit, in an unseen,
invisible way, awakens spiritual life within. The change will become evident
over time in patterns of behaviour and desires that are pleasing to God.’ (Grudem
Theology 701)
Take a moment to ask God to search you:
Are you being merciful with your use of money? Is there a person or
circumstance that you could help?
0 comments:
Post a Comment