Doing What Sheep Do

Matthew 25:31-40 (NLT)

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

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!’

Yesterday, my younger daughter and I went shopping in a nearby town. As we were driving along, Lindsay spoke up, "I have a granola bar, can I give it to him?"  I had not even noticed the homeless man on the side of the road. She quickly found the bar in her purse and rolled down the window. "I have a granola bar," she said. "Would you like to have it?" The homeless man replied, "Yes Ma'am, thank you very much!" It's a wonder she did not open the door and ask him to hop in the car for her thoughts remained on him all day. She thought of other things she could have done for him...whether or not it was best to give homeless people money...what he was doing in the afternoon when it began to snow. As we left town and started home, she talked about going back to get him. I thought of how that dirty homeless man was Jesus to Lindsay today and how Lindsay was Jesus to him. I think Jesus was happy for the both of them. It wasn't by chance that Lindsay filled her purse with snacks before we left home. She was led by the Holy Spirit. She was headed for a divine appointment. We rejoiced that the granola bar was hearty and would fill his empty belly and sustain him for a while. I pray the love she showed to him sustained him, too. Lindsay is a sheep. Sheep feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, invite strangers into their homes, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit those in prison. Sheep are blessed by their Heavenly Father. Sheep inherit the Kingdom He has prepared for them from the creation of the world. Let us go and do what sheep do!