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Christ Identifies With the Poor and Suffering
This chapter is based on Matthew 25:31-46.
When the Son of Man comes ..., then He will sit on the throne
of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He
will separate them one from another.” In this way Christ pictured
the scene of the great Judgment Day. When the nations are gathered
before Him, there will be only two classes, and their eternal destiny
will depend on what they have done or have neglected to do for Him
in the person of the poor and suffering.
In that day Christ does not present before men and women the
great work He has done for them in giving His life; He presents the
faithful work they have done for Him. “‘Come, you blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and
you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked
and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison
and you came to Me.’” But those whom Christ commends do not
realize that they have been ministering to Him. To their perplexed
inquiries He answers, “‘Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of
these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
“In all who suffer for My name,” said Jesus, “you are to recognize
Me. As you would minister to Me, so you are to minister to them.”
All who have been born into the heavenly family are in a special
sense the brothers and sisters of our Lord. The love of Christ binds
the members of His family together. “Everyone who loves is born
of God and knows God.”
1 John 4:7
.
Those whom Christ approves in the judgment may have known
little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Even
among the heathen there are those who have cherished the spirit
of kindness. Before the words of life had fallen on their ears, they
befriended the missionaries, even at the risk of their own lives. Those
who worship God ignorantly, those to whom no human ever brings
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