Love's True Litmus Test
In Matthew 25:31-46, we come to a weighty and sobering passage that is a fitting follow-up to what we’ve been considering on the second part of the Great Commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus gives us a news report of future history - of a day that is coming, marked on God’s calendar, and that will be unlike any other. He tells of the day of His return, when He comes again in His glory with all the holy angels with Him, and takes His seat on His glorious throne on earth. What will be His first order of business? He calls the nations of the world before Him to be judged, to establish right from the outset who gets to come into His kingdom, and who does not. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. We must face the fact that one way or another, we will all stand before King Jesus one day. And it will be shown which team we were on. Truly there’s nothing more serious in life, than knowing you’re on the right side of the line!
As Jesus pronounces His judgment, what’s really amazing here is what He vocalizes as the basis for His verdict…
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of 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 drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matt. 25:34-36)
Those to His right ask Him: “When did we see you like that and do that to you?”
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matt. 25:40)
But then to those on His left….
Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25:45-46)
Notice, He points to their actions - what they DID (or, for those on His left, what they DID NOT do.) Now, is Jesus saying we’re saved by our works? Certainly not! The Bible is most clear that salvation is by God’s grace alone, received not by works but through faith in Jesus alone. But real faith alive and active. It’s faith in action! But take note especially of the types of actions listed. He doesn’t point to “religious” actions we might expect such as Bible-reading, prayer, church attendance, and ordinances, but rather to tangible, loving acts of service! On this Day of Judgment, what will ultimately matter is: How well did you love? And not just say you love, but demonstrate real, selfless, humble, servant-hearted, Christ-dependent, Christ-exalting, Spirit-produced love that reaches out in practical acts of mercy and compassion to meet tangible needs of others, especially fellow believers. That is the evidence of real faith, for that is what real faith produces!
Four points jump out of this passage that we must take to heart:
KEY POINT 1: Real Love is not just said - it’s shown.
KEY POINT 2: How we love our fellow Christians equates to how we love Jesus Himself.
KEY POINT 3. Demonstrating love is not optional; it’s indispensable!
KEY POINT 4: When we walk in love now, we experience a foretaste of the perfect, eternal love of heaven!
I was recently reading about the tsunami of 2004. One place that was especially hard hit was Sri Lanka. In the Kalutara region, made up mostly of Muslims and Buddhists, 4,000 houses were washed away, leaving 14,000 people homeless. Not far from there was a Christian school called St. John’s. The principal, A.D. Karunarathna, knew his school stood on high, dry ground, so he immediately issued an order to his staff: “Open the gates. Open all the doors. Let everyone in.” In the first 10 days after the tsunami, more than 2,200 refugees came into the school. The staff turned their classrooms into dorm rooms, and their banisters and desks into drying stations for clothes. They set up outhouses as well as a medical treatment center. They fed people, cared for them, and tended to their needs in numerous ways. How do you think the Muslims and Buddhists of Kalutura felt about them and about Christianity after that? I wonder how many became Christians.
Presently, God has our fellowship planted in the borough of Freehold, in Monmouth County, NJ. This is our Kalutara. How are we doing at loving the people of our community? Are we loving them in such a way that they take notice and are compelled to ask where that love comes from? Surely, it need not require a tsunami to happen first.
In light of this, may we take time to seriously and prayerfully consider the following questions:
1. What practical needs can you imagine are had by people all throughout this local community?
2. What simple acts of Christlike service might you be able to perform in response to any one of them?
3. What might it look like if every one of us became more committed to loving and caring for the needs of “the least of these” here in our community?
Just imagine how the Lord might transform this whole borough, and then well beyond it, in the name of Jesus, if we would all answer God’s call and give Him our unreserved, unconditional “yes”. If we’ve not been doing so already, may we start loving like our eternity depends upon it. Because, in a sense, it does.
As Jesus pronounces His judgment, what’s really amazing here is what He vocalizes as the basis for His verdict…
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of 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 drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matt. 25:34-36)
Those to His right ask Him: “When did we see you like that and do that to you?”
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matt. 25:40)
But then to those on His left….
Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25:45-46)
Notice, He points to their actions - what they DID (or, for those on His left, what they DID NOT do.) Now, is Jesus saying we’re saved by our works? Certainly not! The Bible is most clear that salvation is by God’s grace alone, received not by works but through faith in Jesus alone. But real faith alive and active. It’s faith in action! But take note especially of the types of actions listed. He doesn’t point to “religious” actions we might expect such as Bible-reading, prayer, church attendance, and ordinances, but rather to tangible, loving acts of service! On this Day of Judgment, what will ultimately matter is: How well did you love? And not just say you love, but demonstrate real, selfless, humble, servant-hearted, Christ-dependent, Christ-exalting, Spirit-produced love that reaches out in practical acts of mercy and compassion to meet tangible needs of others, especially fellow believers. That is the evidence of real faith, for that is what real faith produces!
Four points jump out of this passage that we must take to heart:
KEY POINT 1: Real Love is not just said - it’s shown.
KEY POINT 2: How we love our fellow Christians equates to how we love Jesus Himself.
KEY POINT 3. Demonstrating love is not optional; it’s indispensable!
KEY POINT 4: When we walk in love now, we experience a foretaste of the perfect, eternal love of heaven!
I was recently reading about the tsunami of 2004. One place that was especially hard hit was Sri Lanka. In the Kalutara region, made up mostly of Muslims and Buddhists, 4,000 houses were washed away, leaving 14,000 people homeless. Not far from there was a Christian school called St. John’s. The principal, A.D. Karunarathna, knew his school stood on high, dry ground, so he immediately issued an order to his staff: “Open the gates. Open all the doors. Let everyone in.” In the first 10 days after the tsunami, more than 2,200 refugees came into the school. The staff turned their classrooms into dorm rooms, and their banisters and desks into drying stations for clothes. They set up outhouses as well as a medical treatment center. They fed people, cared for them, and tended to their needs in numerous ways. How do you think the Muslims and Buddhists of Kalutura felt about them and about Christianity after that? I wonder how many became Christians.
Presently, God has our fellowship planted in the borough of Freehold, in Monmouth County, NJ. This is our Kalutara. How are we doing at loving the people of our community? Are we loving them in such a way that they take notice and are compelled to ask where that love comes from? Surely, it need not require a tsunami to happen first.
In light of this, may we take time to seriously and prayerfully consider the following questions:
1. What practical needs can you imagine are had by people all throughout this local community?
2. What simple acts of Christlike service might you be able to perform in response to any one of them?
3. What might it look like if every one of us became more committed to loving and caring for the needs of “the least of these” here in our community?
Just imagine how the Lord might transform this whole borough, and then well beyond it, in the name of Jesus, if we would all answer God’s call and give Him our unreserved, unconditional “yes”. If we’ve not been doing so already, may we start loving like our eternity depends upon it. Because, in a sense, it does.
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