Let us have a look at the sheep and the goat’s parable in the Bible in the Message version of the Bible

Matthew 25:32-50 (The Message)

31-33\”When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

34-36\”Then the King will say to those on his right, \’Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what\’s coming to you in this kingdom. It\’s been ready for you since the world\’s foundation. And here\’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.\’

37-40\”Then those \’sheep\’ are going to say, \’Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?\’ Then the King will say, \’I\’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.\’

I was at church last week and my cell phone rang and the caller ID said that it was my roommate calling. I answered it wondering why he was calling me and wondering where he was. When I answered he told me he had a homeless guy with him who needed a place to stay and was it all right if he came home and crashed on our sofa lounge for a couple of nights.

I answered that it was okay and hung up saying I would meet him at home.
When I got home I was introduced to Ben and told him that as long as he didn’t steal anything he could stay for the two weeks until the flight of our country that he was going to get.

Before I get home I checked with Jesus if this was his will and if the person was going to steal from me. I have a $750 laptop computer and a $500 digital video camera that could easily be stolen and sold at any porn shop. Jesus told me that he wouldn’t steal from me and so that set me at ease.

The only consideration then was who was going to feed him. Once I talked to me roommate and we decided we would bear the cost for food in between us, the matter was settled that Ben could stay the two weeks until he plane was to take him back to his native country.

Jesus said that taking in the homeless is a righteous act of a sheep. Jesus tells us that if we take in a homeless hungry person that we are in fact taking Him into our house.

You may fear the homeless and you might not have the courage to take them in as I have done, but I want to remind you that the homeless were once in a home like you and I.

I hope this story has encouraged you.

Author Bio: If you enjoyed this article perhaps you might like to read what I have written on the 54 parables of Jesus for free at http://www.parables-of-jesus-christ.net. Or you can read the reviews of my book The parables of Jesus made simple on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Parables-Jesus-Made-Simple/dp/1453863575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304264539&sr=8-1

Category: Religion
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