Scripture: Matthew 25:31-40 “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.’”
Devotion: Our service to others is out of an overflow of love for our Savior. As we read through today’s passage of Scripture, it can seem as though Jesus, the one who is speaking, is telling His disciples that people are saved based on the things that they have done. We can know and trust from Scripture that we are saved by grace through faith alone. Nothing we have done or will do, good or bad, can change that. But out of our great love for Jesus and our desire to walk in obedience to Him, we love and care for others.
When we feed other people. When we offer conversation to a stranger. When we show love and grace to children, widows, impoverished, and imprisoned, we are showing the love of Jesus. Though we may not ever receive recognition for those things in this life, we know that they are of great value to God. When we love others with the very same love that He has for us, we are reflecting Him. We are shining His light in even the darkest of situations. And we don’t do so because we are commanded to. We do so because He has lavished His great love on us, and we can’t help but share that same love.
Someday, when we see our Savior face to face, all of the ways that we have served others will be recognized and rewarded. He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
Reflect:
- Is there a person or group of people that you feel called to extend Jesus’ love and grace to?
- How might you reach those people?
