Are you a Sheep or a Goat?

Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)
The Sheep and the Goats

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 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, 36I 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, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

This passage which is taken from the bible is a parable given by Jesus who is the Son of Man ["In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. ~Daniel 7:13-14] and also the Son of God ["All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ~Matthew 11:27]

Jesus is the Shepherd who will leave His ninety-nine sheep in the open country and go after the one lost sheep who went astray. [Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. ~Luke 15:3-7]

The key question which I will like to ask you who are reading this blog entry now: Are you that one lost sheep which He is searching for?

Jesus is searching for you, my friend.

Nobody in this world is a goat who is to be put on His left. [The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ~2 Peter 3:9]

Remember that all of us are sinners in His Sight. [for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ~Romans 3:23] All of us are GOATS in the beginning. We DESERVED to be put on His left. YES, ALL OF US!

However, my friend, that is not the case today since that day when Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for ALL OF US. He did not merely die to redeem the Christians. He died to redeem ALL OF US. He is the Shepherd while we are His sheep.

And hence, Paul continued on to write verses 24 to 26 after he penned down Romans 3:23. [and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. ~Romans 3:24-26]

Grace through faith is the key thing to be a sheep for Jesus. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense [G.R.A.C.E] is given freely through the blood of the unblemished Lamb of God who is Jesus Christ Himself. Do you know the Blood Bank motto – “Give Blood, Give Life”? Jesus Christ gave His Blood to bring us to live the Eternal Life which God has prepared for all of us.

To call one a Christian is to declare – Christ, I Am Nothing [C.H.R.I.S.T.I.A.N]. We are now related to Christ Jesus as sheep are related to the Shepherd. As Jesus calls God His Father, we are also adopted as sons of God [he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will ~ Ephesians 1:5]

This is the reason Christians call each other Brothers and Sisters because all of them belong to the same family of God. When you are a Christian, you are connected to the Universal church of believers. This simply means that wherever you go, you have a family somewhere. Isn’t this just wonderful?

So, are you a sheep or a goat today?