NAKED I AM ..

ST. MATTHEW 25:31-36

(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 divided 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:  (35)  For I was an hungered  and ye gave me meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:  I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  (36)  Naked, and ye clothed me:  I was sick, and ye visited me:  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

COMMENTARY:

Brethren in the Lord, this context is a blessed assurance of our inheritance with Jesus Christ in his glory; when we do his will, what an awesome Grace of God.
First of all, let us ask ourselves how can we be counted worthy of this assurance?
Jesus, made this clear to us in this text; we can be assured of eternal glory with him when we  (feed the poor, take care of a stranger, clothe the naked, pray for the sick, minister the gospel to prisoners), and love one another: when we do all these, we do them unto him and we will inherit eternal life.

Case in point, when we drive/walk down the street, and see a beggar asking for alms, do we give? or  do we say, ("get away from me", "I do not have any", or" I will not give you money to satisfy your alcohol/drug addiction"):  Brethren, no matter what the reason behind the request, we are to give anyway, because Christ had asked us to do so, and leave the rest to him for his mercy:  "Beware" the beggar might be an angel from the Lord, and we are being tested; for there are moments when a Christian will go through a test of faith before we receive blessing from God.

(Father Abraham was tested by God to offer his son Isaac for burnt offering, Genesis 22:1-18).

Also, we clothe ourselves in the winter with expensive fur coats, but will not give a warm blanket to the homeless;  on a hot summer day, we take long showers, but will not offer a bottle of cold water to the needy on the street;  we throw out leftover food to the garbage everyday, but will not feed the poor in the alley behind our building;  we pray for sick friends/family,  but will not visit hospitals to pray for the sick we do not know.

Brethren in the Lord,  when we do all these good gestures, Jesus will count us among the sheep and will inherit eternal life prepared for us from the foundation of the world.

CONCLUSION:

Brethren in the Lord, the whole world is going through difficult times, but as believers, we have to trust the Lord to provide for our needs everyday.
If we believe in Christ, as the provider of all good things, then we will share our blessings with the poor that we might received abundance from God.

The Scripture says, through faith and obedience, the widow of Zarephath received abundance of blessing from the Lord through Elijah the Prophet of God.
(1 Kings 17:13-14)  And Elijah said unto her, (widow of Zarephath) Fear Not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.  (14)  For thus saith the Lord God of Israel,  The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

Let us obey the voice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;  love one another, and do good to the poor at all times to inherit eternal life with Jesus Christ in his glory.  He is the only way to Heaven, no one else!  Believe on him forevermore!  Amen and Amen!