The Archives Devotional Magazine August 2015 | Page 11

‘Now, take the money away from him and give it to the
one who has ten thousand coins. For to every person who has
something, even more will be given, and he will have more
than enough; but the person who has nothing, even the little
that he has will be taken away from him. As for this useless
servant—throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry
and gnash his teeth.’
“When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all
the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide
them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. He will put the righteous people at his right
and the others at his left. Then the King will say to the people
on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come
and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you
ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed
me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you
received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was
sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’
The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever
see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?
When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our
homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you
sick or in prison, and visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you,
whenever you did this for one of the least important of these
followers of mine, you did it for me!’

Sheep and Goats
In Bible times, when shepherds
were in charge of a large flock
(usually comprising of goats and
sheep), the shepherd would lead
the flock back to a camp in the
evening. At this time, the sheep
and the goats would be
separated, counted, and each
animal checked for illness or
injury. Each shepherd had his own
distinctive call to gather the flock.
Sheep, while not particularly
intelligent, would learn the call of
their shepherd and come to it.
Even when flocks were mixed, the
sheep would still follow the call of
their particular shepherd, unless
they were trapped. Once the
sheep were gathered, they were
cooperative while the shepherd
put them in an enclosure,
examined them, or led them
somewhere else. This speaks to
how we should strive to be sheep
with Jesus as our shepherd.