August
10, 2003
COME,
YOU BLESSED OF MY FATHER
"Come,
you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34,
NKJV).
"When
the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels
with Him, 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, as a shepherd divides his sheep from
the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but
the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on
His right hand, '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.' Then the righteous will
answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and
feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You
a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when
did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the
King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren,
you did it to Me' "
(Matthew 25:31-40).
All who
are born into the family of heaven are in reality brothers
and sisters of Jesus (see John 20:17). The love of Christ
binds together the members of His family, and wherever that
love is manifest, the divine relationship is revealed. "Everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7).
"Those
whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little
of theology, but they have cherished His [values]. Through
the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing
to those about them... Among the heathen are those who worship
God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by
human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant
of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking
to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required.
Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched
their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God...
"Love
to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God.
It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family,
that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting
words are fulfilled, "Love one another as I have love
you" (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved
it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted
for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts."--Desire
of Ages, pp., 638, 641.
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