Unselfish Love Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSV) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 19:19 (NRSV) FOR the past eight years, I have been in prison. I have an eight-year-old daughter who often writes me letters to encourage me. Since the letters are from a little girl, they are always short: "Dad, I love you, and I will wait for you until you come back." Her letters always touch my heart. I have done nothing for her during these years, so I decided to save money to buy a special present for her birthday. Last week I heard that a friend's daughter was sick and needed money to see a doctor. I knew my savings would be a great help to the family, but I needed the money too. That night I couldn't sleep, tossing and turning all night. Why? Because there was a struggle in my heart. I had prayed that God would take care of my friend's little girl, but I didn't want to do anything for her. Then the verse "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" entered my mind again and again. It seemed as though Jesus himself were asking me, "If this little girl were your daughter, what would you want others to do?" Immediately I knew what I should do, and I did it. I now understand what Christ's love is all about. Prayer: Dear God, help us to live in gratitude for all you have given us and to honor you by how we use those gifts. Amen. Thought For The Day: How is God using me to care for the world? O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] window live messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
