My dad is 60, and my mum is 58. For them, this means that their musical consumption peak occurred during the late 70s and early 80s. For me, this meant that while I was growing up, the sabbath morning drive to church consisted of a lot of Heritage Singers, Amy Grant and David Meece CDs. However, my favourite music on these car rides was by Keith Green. His music is quite unique, but I still love it! His piano skills are incredible; his songs often tell a story and they always make good points.
One of my favourite songs details the story of The Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25. You can listen to the song here: https://open.spotify.com/track/4JN7A6lmfzVRbiqdezrlZW
Verse 31 sets the scene; Jesus has returned in all His glory, and He separates everyone on Earth into two categories: the sheep and the goats. In short, you want to be a sheep because Jesus says to them:
“34…‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’”
The sheep sound pretty impressive; they did all that for Jesus? Wow! But as we read on, we realise that the sheep are confused, they don’t remember helping Him at all.
“37…‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’”
But Jesus says to them, “40…‘Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
Did you get that? The sheep weren’t literally clothing the Messiah; they were giving a coat to a homeless person, food to those who couldn’t afford it and taking care of their mentally ill friend. When we serve the people with whom we come in contact, we are serving Jesus.
Jesus has a similar conversation with the goats, but the difference is that when they came in contact with people in need, they didn’t help them.
Ultimately Jesus tells this group, “45… ‘Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’” And He sends them into everlasting punishment.
Perhaps you’re thinking, ‘Well the goats are mean, they refused to help others, and they’re bad people, so they get what they deserve. I’m a good person; clearly, I’m a sheep’. The reason why I love Keith Green’s take on this story is that it challenges us. He lists off a lot of excuses which the goats might give Jesus, and they seem pretty valid!
“Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were you naked,
I mean Lord, that’s not fair either Lord,
We didn’t know what size you wear.
Oh Lord, when were you a stranger, Lord,
You weren’t one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you?”
This next excuse hits home for me:
“Oh Lord, that wasn’t our ministry Lord. We just didn’t feel led, you know?”
And the excuses go on. Take a moment to think about the reasons you use to justify the things you ‘do not do for the least of these’. Take a breath and keep reading.
It’s good if you feel challenged. I don’t want this article to inspire reckless behaviour, but I certainly want to be more intentional with how I serve others.
So, who is Jesus? Who are ‘the least of these’? Look around you, think about how you can serve your family, your friends, your enemies, strangers, the weird kid from the grade below you who added you on Facebook, and that annoying person who you ‘wrote-off’ ages ago. It’s not easy. It’s not supposed to be easy.
If you’re struggling to serve some people in your life, try and change your attitude towards them. Remember that they are a child of God whom He loves just as much as He loves you. Pray for them and pray that God will change your attitude towards them.
Here’s the kicker. Keith Green ends his song by noting:
“…the only difference between the sheep and the goats,
According to this scripture,
Is what they did, and didn’t do!!”
I’m not advocating salvation by works, but it stands to reason, that when you love Jesus, you also show love to others.
WRITER: Alexandra Tiller, attends Park Ridge Church QLD.