The Other Days

Matthew 25:31-46

Should we be afraid of judgment?

Photo by Danka & Peter on Unsplash

“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.” - Matt. 25:31-46

There are times in our lives when we are ready for judgment day. We take a look at our lives and say, “This is good. I have done well with what God has given me.”

Then there are the other days.

If you are like me, those other days are most days. And most of those other days are days when I don’t even think about it.

Stuff gets in the way. At every stage of our lives, we have priorities. We have children to get ready for school, groceries to shop for, meals to plan, visits to grandma to fit in, and of course, work.

We may feel guilty when someone reminds us that God has expectations for us. We may even get angry with God.

But look at it this way. Those things, that stuff that may seem to distract us from God’s plan, that is God’s plan for us.

Life is made up of the other days, and those are the days we shine. We tackle the stuff that the world dishes out, and we go on, regardless. We make a difference in the lives of those we love and those we encounter.

Could we do better? Heck, yeah! We can always do better, and if we want to, that is half the battle.

The other days are our gift to God, our family, and one another. Time is the most precious gift we have, so using it for someone else is a sacrifice, a sign of love.

As you tackle the other stuff of this day, remember that it is your gift to yourself, your family, your God, and your world.

Go in peace.

More to come...

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