Matters of Faith: "Choose to Serve" Article - By Rev. Dr. J Loren Russell.

CHOOSE TO SERVE!

Reverend J. Loren Russell

Matthew 25: 31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for 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.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘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?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

In the text, Jesus is speaking “eschatologically,” as my Sunday School Superintendent, Sis. Berthine Dixon at Goodwill BC used to say. What that means is He was speaking of the end of time. In the text, the sheep and the goats are separated to the right and left sides of the King. The right side is for the righteous (sheep), the left for the wicked (goats).

What caught my attention was that neither the sheep nor the goats seemed to know why they were on the side they were placed. Their lives were parallel. Both had encountered hungry, thirsty, immigrant, homeless, naked, sick, and imprisoned persons in the course of their lives but they responded in very different ways. It was their choices in life that determined which side they would be placed. Those on the right would inherit the kingdom, while those on the left, everlasting fire.

The text says that the Son of Man said to both, “inasmuch as you….Both the sheep and the goats had the same opportunities. Those on the right chose to serve, those on the left did not. When we serve, we are really giving; giving our time, talents, and resources. No title is needed to give. No position is too low or too high to give. An abundance of resources is not needed to give. Giving is an act of love, which means that the only thing required to give is a willing heart.

Both the sheep and the goats had the same chances to serve. They each had the same opportunities. Like the sheep and the goats, what we learn from this text is that the disposition of our eternal residence is determined by our choices to serve or not to serve. We too, have opportunities and the ability to choose to serve or not. I firmly believe if anyone of those who were placed on the left could speak, they would tell us to choose to serve.

The blessings many of us have today is abundance! We have worked hard and are now in places of affluence, influence, and authority, but we sometimes need a reminder of what Jesus told a large crowd who had gathered to hear Him speak, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48 NKJV). Let me close with this,

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back” (Luke 6:38 NLT). Serving is giving. Choose to serve.

Be Blessed!

Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at Goodwill Baptist Church and is the spiritual leader of the Evangelical Church of God, both in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company/J Loren R Consulting, LLC for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting (718-328-8096) and is the producer and host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Monday nights from 8:00 – 10:00 PM on The Matters of Faith YouTube channel. Be sure to ‘Friend, Like, and Share.” Email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The eBook at www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177