Feeling Pretty Good

Matthew 25:31-46

New International Version (NIV)

The Sheep and the Goats

    ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² 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. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.   ³⁴ “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. ³⁵ 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, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
   ⁴¹ “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. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ 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.’
   ⁴⁴ “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?’
   ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
   ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”


I posted this verse, because it came to mind today that my friend's mother is having a hard time getting groceries. A few weeks ago, we raided our pantry and took her a box full of food and juice, but there was no meat or bread or milk. So last night, I called to ask her if there was anything she needed. She asked for a loaf of bread (didn't specify which kind), a quart of milk, and some hamburger meat. I called my friend last night, too, to ask her what kind of bread her mom preferred. When I went to the store today, I got her a 2 liter of Coke, something like 5 pounds of hamburger meat (I think), a half gallon of milk, and a loaf of wheat bread. I also brought her homemade breakfast this morning. I knew she needed help, and while I can't do much, that's something I knew I could do. And she was so grateful. I got this really good feeling helping her. We talked for a few minutes, then we hugged and I told her if she ever needed anything to let me know. I enjoy helping people, I just don't get the chance to do it very often. I am going to try to get her some food every month.