Primitive Christianity Revived, Again
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. :34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Of all the allegories that Jesus teaches, in the new testament. I've never heard a pastor, professor, elder, deacon, bishop, priest, or public speaker elaborate on, in my fifty some years of life on this planet. Why?
Could it be . . . that if they did study this spiritual event . . . an apply it to their lifestyle . . . they would be out of a ceremonial position?
Growing up in a Pentecostal culture with all its rules and regulations of worship now seems so complicated and strict and stupid.
I've heard Calvinists boldly declare . . . "You can not earn your salvation!" "God chooses who will be saved."
And the words of Arminianism still echo in my head "universal atonement of the Cross."
But neither of these requirements are spoken of in the above verses. The ONLY requirement is we consider the least of our fellow humans as if they were God.
So . . . what is our definition of "least in the family of mankind"?
Is it serial killers . . . abortion doctors . . . environmental polluters . . . kidnappers . . . cannibals . . . terrorists . . . Hitler . . . Black Panthers . . .
KKK . . . Hells Angels . . . Bernie Madoff . . . Judas . . . Lee Harvey Oswald . . .
So . . . who will . . . change . . . and love like God does?
I'm for cereal killers! I'll just murder a bowl of oatmeal with walnuts, cranberries, and half&half!
The Clerk of my Meeting held that passage up for our consideration maybe 1/2 a year ago.
My only objection is to the passage's implication that God doesn't love like God does. But it's a great corrective for anyone who's been assuming they're got free tickets to the "sheep" category, unlike those "bad" people.
Forrest:
You are the best . . . how did you know . . . I'm guilty . . . Grape Nut Flakes . . . are my problem . . . I just love to destroy them. I know . . . I'm the flake . . . and the nut.
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