"34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' " (Matt 25 TNIV)
Concern for the marginalized is the criterion for judgment in the mind of Jesus.
We had a good discussion about this text last night and I thought I would share some of it with you.
Does Jesus really judge us based on how we treat the marginalized? What about grace? What about the cross? How could Jesus base our eternal fate on "works"?
I can't ignore the words of Jesus here, so my goal is to find a way to fit this teaching in with the teaching of grace and forgiveness.
What if Jesus is calling us to not just be forgiven, but to be transformed? What if when we are transformed by forgiveness we end up treating people differently. What if Jesus is not judging people by their treatment of the marginalized, but pointing out the transformation that must happen when someone is forgiven and filled with the Spirit?
What do you think?
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