OPINION —
The world loves to honor those rare individuals who accomplish great things. Ted Turner developed a remarkable baseball business in Atlanta. Oral Roberts built a fine university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Frank Lloyd Wright designed Fallingwater, a residential masterpiece in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. William Worrall Mayo and his two sons built the Mayo Clinic. Sir Christopher Wren designed the awesome St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Jesus, on the other hand, invited his followers, all of them, to focus on doing small things that would bless others. We call that practicing small acts of kindness. One day, while reminding his listeners that God rewards righteous living, Jesus explained that “if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (Matthew 10:42). Though giving someone a cup of cold water is not a great thing, it is an act of compassion that pleases God.
No one has explained this with more memorable words that those attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love.”
Nowhere does Jesus clarify his appeal for his disciples to “do small things with great love” than in his teaching about the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). Every servant of Jesus should read this passage once a month since it stirs us to look for daily ways to practice small acts of kindness. Jesus makes it so simple that it is impossible to misunderstand his teaching. We shall be judged by whether we live like sheep or like goats.
The goats ignore those who are hungry for food and thirsty for something to drink. They turn a blind eye to the stranger who could have been invited in.
They do not offer clothes to those who need clothes, nor do they offer any assistance to those who are sick. They have no time to visit those who are in prison.
The sheep, the righteous ones, on the other hand, do all the things the goats fail to do. They feed the hungry, offer hospitality to the stranger, provide clothes for the needy, care for the sick and make compassionate visits with those in prison. And King Jesus says that one day, while sitting on his throne in heavenly glory, he will say to the sheep, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
The goats, who offered no compassion to those in need, will hear King Jesus say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Jesus explains to the goats that “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do to me.”
The bottom line of this teaching is contained the disturbing words of Jesus when he says the goats “will go away to eternal punishment,” but the sheep, the righteous, will go “to eternal life.”
Each of us can decide this important question: Did Jesus say what He meant and mean what He said? Clearly, Jesus meant what He said, so our answer to the question will determine where we will spend eternity.
Practicing small acts of kindness will not only create a better world to live in, it will also please God and put us on the King’s Highway that leads to eternal life in the awesome presence of our Savior.
So, a gentle suggestion: Get up in the morning and look for ways to care for the needy because anything you do for them will be like doing it to Jesus. And that is an amazing thought to mull over as you begin a new day.
Altar Call | Of sheep and goats
