Matthew 24:31-46
Rebecca Lightfoot
On a blackboard this week there was a quote written that makes me think of what Jesus says n Matthew25:37-40.The quote is,”If the reality of God doesn’t change you,it’s not the reality of God”.Jesus describes what the hearts&lives of the “righteous” will look like when he says,”Then the righteous will answer him,saying,’Lord,when did we see you hungry & feed you,or thirsty & give you drink?&when did we see you a stranger & welcome you ,or naked &clothe you?&when did we see you sick or in prison & visit you?’&the King will answer them,’Truly I say to you,as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it for me’.”N Matthew25:31-46, Jesus is describing the difference between those that are genuinely changed by personally knowing Christ,& those that are not..”changed by the reality of God”.When we trust Christ as our Savior&Lord,He places His Holy Spirit n us,& the work of the Holy Spirit begins n us & we are made “different”....MADE NEW!2Corinthians5:17 says,”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”This means that IF I am truly “in Jesus”,then the way I think,the way I live,& what makes my heart beat...becomes more&more like the Ways of Jesus!I am changed from the old ways,and made NEW.N these vs of Matthew,Jesus gives me ways to get a personal “read” on how well my life&heart are doing with His Work of change n my life!He says that I will b having not only His Empathy for people that come n2 my life,but that I will b compelled by genuine/unselfish/sacrificial “action/response” without any thoughts of “look at what good thing I am doing to b like Jesus”,or “what blessings should I get for this good thing I am doing?”,or “I am more like Christ than others because...”.A sign that we have been MADE NEW is when we don’t even think about these things,but we just “do” because of our New Heart compelling us!This New Heart,Jesus says is the “identifier” of those that are His sheep n Matthew25:31-33,”...and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats...”Jesus is saying that when I respond without any of the above selfish thoughts,it is a pretty good sign that I am HIS.By the same token,when I respond w any of the above selfish thoughts,it is a pretty good sign that there is “MORE WORK” 2 b done in “making me new”,& that I need to ask the question “what is changing me to respond the way I respond/live the way I live?”If I have any of the above selfish thoughts/motivations,then “what is changing me”,is “an imposter”...NOT the “reality of God ”!Dear Jesus,oh my,Your Words n these verses have opened my eyes to so many things n my life that r not the result of Your Spirit n me,but that of an imposter.Please “invade” these areas of my life w the Power&Authority of Who You are...change me & make me new n every part of my life,to be like You n every part of my life.