Have you ever acted like a goat? I know I have.
And no, I don’t mean getting on your knees and eating grass just for the fun of it (now, that I mention it though...) There is this interesting passage in the Gospel of Matthew about goats and sheep. To keep it brief, Jesus essentially says that, one day, a kingly Figure will separate the nations unto His right and left hand. Those on the right will be like sheep – always giving a steady hand of help to the needy. Those on the left will be like goats – willingly choosing, conversely, to give no aid to those in search of it. But maybe the most interesting figure in the story is the King. Why, you ask?
The narrative of Scripture is regularly filled with a wonderous tool we call paradox. The internet gives this definition for the word, paradox: “a statement that is seemingly contradictory, yet is perhaps true.” Within Matthew 25, we find a fascinating sketch of something that is perhaps true. Here it is: the king is actually one of the poor... the king is actually one of the hungry... the king is actually imprisoned!... how can that be true? Truth is, I don’t know!
This specific scenario has generated a GENIUS conclusion on the other side of things. Namely that, because they didn’t recognize who they were serving, the sheep could not have been doing these things as “intentional meritorious acts to gain access to the kingdom of God.” They did them because it was
perhaps who they truly were! I’ve heard it said before, “who you are is not what you do, what you do is the fruit of who you are.”
May we be more like sheep, walking so closely with our shepherd that, soon enough, our ways become ever more as His ways.
Blessings,
Rob
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