“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:46
When a parent disciplines their child, they often remind them that there are consequences for their actions. From a small child’s perspective, they can do whatever they want, never considering how it will affect others. They often don’t do this out of maliciousness but out of a genuine misunderstanding of how the world works. Even as adults, we hold onto some of this child-like logic in our lives. We may not really consider the consequences of how we live or spend each day. We often get so caught in the routines of life that we never even think about judgment day when we will have to face God and be accountable for what we have done.
As easy as it is to put off, this passage reminds us of the urgency and the seriousness of the consequences that come from how we live. Eternal punishment without God or eternal life with God are the only options. There is no in-between. What separates those who will receive life and those who will receive punishment is how their lives were transformed by Christ and reflected Him.
For those who receive eternal life, the risks, the challenges, and the inconvenience of loving the least of these will all be worth it in the end. Those small sacrifices will be so small considering the eternal gift in Christ. The question for today is, will we take this call seriously? Will we devote our lives to Jesus and be changed by Him, knowing our lives depend on it, or will we be distracted by the here and now, disregarding the eternal consequences that will certainly come?
- How often do you think about eternity? What impacts this?
- What would it look like to prioritize eternity in your life today? How does living for eternal life with God change how you see the challenges of serving the least of these?
- Pray and ask God to help you view your life through eternal perspective and to live for Him every day.
