Dear Father, forgive me when I lose sight of what is really important in life. Help me to keep my eyes focused on Your truth. Enable me to show others that you are the real treasure in life.
1 Chronicles 16:23-31 (NIV)
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His dwelling place.
Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. Tremble before Him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
1 Chronicles 16:23-31New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 24 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people.
25 For the Lordis great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the people are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. 27 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place.
28 Give to the Lord, O families of the people, Give to the Lord glory and strength. 29 Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! 30 Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
English: An image showing Ovis aries in field with goats. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The parable of the sheep and the goats that Jesus told in Matthew 25:31-46 seems to convey a simple message. And why not. Jesus was and is known to make things simple. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Jesus used this parable to clear up any ambiguity in an earlier point that He made: “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
As you read through the parable (the sheep and the goats), you will notice that as Christians and as a society in general, we are charge with the responsibility to care for the less fortunate. Further, according to the parable, every crying voice for help that we ignore will be held against us when we stand before the righteous Judge.