"34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,you were doing it to me!’"
-Matthew 25:34-40
Well, I definitely don't clothe, feed, or take in the needy. I'm selfish. I tell you that much. And what did Jesus say to those who are like me?
"41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”"
I really don't want to go to the eternal fires of Hell with the devil's demons... I really don't. And in my heart I pray for people who are in need. I think about them. I want to help... But I really just don't have the time. But did Jesus say, "Well, I'd like to die on the cross for your sins, but I'm too busy with my own life healing people and stuff..."
No, he just did it. No questions, no complaining, no bitter spirit... Everything out of love for all of us. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was the love our neighbor as ourselves. But in all reality, that's hard. I don't do that. I tell myself I'll get around to it, but I just get caught up with other things. Now, schoolwork and work are trivial compared to the miracles that Jesus was performing, so I don't mean to equate my life with that, but I am saying that I'm a busy college-student who is super involved and has a ridiculous schedule.
For example, I have been so busy this past week writing two papers, handing in a research proposal, making a ten-minute teaching presentation over rough material, reading two books, reading two Shakespeare plays, translating Latin poetry, and reading about 200 pages of other material... So I didn't have the time to read a book for a quiz due today until yesterday, or write a paper that's due today until... today....
Scratch that--I did have time, but I chose to watch the Superbowl, and I chose to sleep....
Alright, so we all use our time for certain things. I use it to sleep, clean, work, and do schoolwork... But I need to make service to God another priority. If I'm not going out into the world and being the best person I can be for the Lord, if I'm a recluse and stay cooped up in my apartment reading and writing, what good am I? What instrument for the Lord am I being? Sure, I may get good grades (my obsession), but I wouldn't have the opportunity to even go to college without God. I wouldn't have the mind, the drive, or the perseverance without the Lord.
I really need to get my butt in gear and start doin' work for God's Kingdom... Because what are these earthly honors anyways? Nothing.
God bless,
Lauren
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