Somewhere around 1988, I was introduced to a singer named Keith Green. Keith was killed in a car accident in 1982 when he was only 28 years old. He is known by many as the godfather of Christian music. I remember a combination of two songs that he wrote that really messed with my teenage mind. The first song, "The Sheep and The Goats" was based on the last story in our chapter today. He always followed that song with a song called "Asleep in the Light." Though the song had a significant impact on me as a teenager, I think my life has not only forgotten the song, but let the message drift as well.
You see this story about the sheep and the goats really is about one word. The word is a small word, but it is the wedge that is driven between the two stories. The word is "DO." I know that my salvation, my relationship with God, is not based on what I do or don't do, but what He did. That's not what is at stake here. The issue here is how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the cold and the imprisoned. The people who "do" feed, give drink, provide shelter and visit the imprisoned, do so to Jesus. The ones who don't, don't.
What strikes me today is not how people I know respond or don't respond to the needy around us. What strikes me is how I respond. What I hope strikes you is how you respond. You see, when I see people in these situations, I have a tendency to think:
- What were their bad choices that led them here?
- If I give them something what will they do with it?
- If I make I contact, what will happen?
- If I give, I won't have money for...
- Isn't there a shelter close by?
The brutal fact is that when I see hungry people, I don't see Jesus. When I see thirsty people, I don't see Jesus. When I see homeless or imprisoned people, I don't see Jesus. I've been struck by the conversations we've been having over the past month at how the Jesus we are reading about doesn't match the Jesus we thought we knew. I can tell you that this is definitely not the Jesus I know.
What in the world do we do with this? Do we sell all our stuff and give it away to help others and join in a vow of poverty? How do we reconcile this with our quaint suburban lives? Am I just beating myself up for no reason? Can we really make a difference?
This is going to be a heavy finish to a great 4 weeks. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be good. Today hasn't been easy for me, but it's been good. I hope some of you will wrestle with these words with me.
