God is a God of love. Originally, he created men in His likeness, and he commands men to be loving.
Today, I want to look at a parable of Jesus on the final judgment day. This parable shows how important the commandment of love is in God’s eyes. God will judge all men, asking if they have loved others.
God wants those who believe in Him to love. He calls us to think about love. He calls us to take care and listen to His words on love. He wants us to act lovingly.
You find this parable of Jesus in Matthew chapter 25. (Verses 39-46). It is also known as the parable of the sheep and the goats. Jesus refers to what shepherds would sometimes do with their herds. They separated animals of different kinds into their respective groups.
Jesus says on judgment day, he will gather people from all nations. He will separate them into two groups. He will gather one group on his right and the other on his left.
Some Observations
- The heavenly judge will ask people from all nations if they have loved Him. The commandment of love is a double commandment. God wants man to love him with all his heart, soul and strength. Then he wants every man to love his neighbour as himself.
- Jesus, the heavenly judge, strongly identifies himself with men and women who can be easily overlooked and neglected. The way we have treated the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the strangers, and the imprisoned is decisive. He says the way we have treated these men and women is the way we have treated Him.
- In judgment, Jesus will not only ask us about what we have done. He will be concerned about what we have neglected. In other words, He will look at our sins of commission as well as our sins of omission.
- There are those whom the judge receives. He calls them the blessed of the Father. They are not overly conscious of the good things they did. Nor are they in any way boastful about their good deeds.
- There are those whom the judge sends away to be punished. They really did not care about other men and women in need. They are judged because of the good things they did not do.
Main Points:
- God is a God of love.
- He will judge all men by the way we have loved or neglected to love.
- Loving God will make us sensitive to the love he requires from us.
- Focusing on the love of God will help us learn to love.
Make Ends Meet:
Years ago, I started this site to focus on 1 Corinthians 13. I have made my way through verses 1-3 and verses 4-7. I only gave some introductory remarks on verses 8-13.
Verse 8 begins with the statement: “Love never fails.” You can take this to mean: Love will not fail on judgment day. True love will be received and accepted by the Lord on judgment day.
As human beings, we often fail to love. We are concerned with our own needs and desires. We overlook what others need.
We need God’s grace and forgiveness. We need a restored relationship with our creator.
God created man in His own image. God is a God of love.
We can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Depending on God’s grace, we can learn to love the way God wants us to.
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