photo: leroys/pixabay CCO public domain
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you clothed me,
I was sick and you visited me,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, saying,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick
or in prison and visit you?’
And the King will answer them,
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,
you did it to me.’Matthew 25:31-40
What does the Kingdom of GOD look like? This is a great description from the mouth of Jesus isn’t it? How does it compare with what the Church in America looks like?
The kingdom of GOD is an upside-down Kingdom!
Jesus is much less concerned about power, numbers and even theatrics isn’t He? According to this as well as the passages in Matthew 5-7 on the Sermon on the Mount, it seems that Jesus is much more concerned about the poor, the disenfranchised, the weak and hungry, the imprisoned… These are all the kinds of people we don’t tend to seek out naturally.
So often, the view of church can be that it is more like a club, a group of people who know and like each other…and sometimes where new people don’t feel like they fit it or are even wanted.
Jesus’ description here is that of a place that is much more like a hospital. When we think of the Kingdom of GOD being like a hospital, doesn’t it change our whole view of how we minister to one another? And to whom we minister? Who is part of the group? This kingdom is made up of people who are or have been hungry, poor, strangers, naked, sick or in prison. We are indeed a motley group aren’t we?
Once we see ourselves as part of this group, we will make giant steps in understanding a little more of what GOD’s Kingdom is like. What is the Church universal to be like? We are a people who realize we are poor in spirit because we know we have nothing to offer GOD.
We are bankrupt on our own…apart from Jesus. Welcome to the Kingdom of GOD.
