Matthew 25:31-46 (34-45) – 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.”
Please see this video: https://youtu.be/W8q1M6R0vkc
Thank you for sharing! I also love these videos. I love my big boy! Yet what really touched me was the lady who trained the dog. They way of the world is lock up and throw away prisoners (prisoners for whatever reason). Too often we don’t have compassion for them. I understand justice and I also desire that justice happen. If a person breaks the law and goes to jail, well there are consequences for bad actions. However, once in the prison, too many would have no compassion on them. To the non-Christian I would say I disagree with that. However, to the non-Christian, I accept that we disagree. But to the Christian I would remind that Jesus taught us to have compassion on those in prison. We were all once imprisoned by the enemy. It is God Himself who visited us and taught us about His love. His love didn’t stay behind the bars of or prison, He stepped through them to free us. Some may object that many behind bars don’t deserve mercy. Neither did any of us. Jesus stepped through the bars that imprisoned us to embrace us and love us (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus taught that those who care about prisoners, who continue to love them, as He does, show that they have His heart within them. Conversely, He also taught that those who refuse to love prisoners, whom He still loves, do not have His love, or His heart within them. Those who call ourselves Christians and don’t have His love within us do not belong to Him (1 John 4:8). Perhaps people consider those in prison the “refuse” or the “dregs” of society. Yet God still loves them and reaches out to them. Jesus died for them as much as for any of us. Mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:12-13). This is true in God’s love for us and it is how we should live towards others. After all, the world is increasingly returning to a position that the world once had of Christians, that we are the dregs of society.
In the above verses from Matthew, Jesus groups prisoners as people who need to be loved and ministered to the same as those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers (and what about strangers!), the ill-clothed, and the sick. Jesus includes prisoners in this grouping. The same as we minister to the rest of this group, and we are quick to agree that we should, we should also be quick to agree that we should minister to prisoners. Jesus loves them. God loves them. If God loves them, and if we claim that it is His love within us, then we also ought to love them. Can we at least start with having compassion on them and not despising them? Even the worst of criminals can become a new creature if bathed in the blood of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are no better. They have sinned and so have we. We must remain humble and we must love for, in so doing, we show that God is our Father and Lord.
What does Jesus call those who love and minister to all in this group? Blessed. What does Jesus call those who do not love and minister to all in this group? Cursed. Family, those who condemn others as cursed and cast them aside, risk being found to themselves being cursed (Matthew 7:1-2). Remember that it is not sinning in and of itself that keeps us from going to live forever with the Lord. We all keep sinning. Forgiveness from sinning is always available, through Jesus (1 John 1:9). The identifier of those who are cursed is not having God’s loving heart within. If we have His loving heart within then it will bear the fruit of love. A heart of love is active and pursues those who are at the ends of the earth, even in its prisons (Acts 13:47). Love breaks down barriers and loves the unlovable. Unlovable, such am I. Such were all of us. We were all, before Christ, filthy with sin. As we have been rescued by the love of God, let us bring our sacred assignment of love to others. Let us love indiscriminately and so declare to the world that we belong not to it, but to God (James 2:1). Let’s lead with love. Just as God did through Jesus. Praise our God who has loved us so! Let us let us let His love flow through us to others. In doing so we praise God! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.