April 2: Matthew 25 41-46
Key Verse: Matthew 25 42
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink
Devotion:
At first read this passage may seem dire and even heartless, but when you read it alongside all the warnings and all the advice we have been given – we should expect nothing less! No matter what other leaders around the world said about getting people to distance themselves from each other during this pandemic, governments of certain countries did not respond to the warnings… until they began to see the results of not listening to the warnings.
It is much the same in our spiritual world as well, God has given us the warnings, He has given us the advice and shown us the way forward – yet so many people choose to ignore these warnings and carry on doing their own thing. Jesus came to give people the warnings verbally; thankfully many people listened – but still more ignored those warnings.
Who is to blame? Is it God who has given out plenty of warnings? Is it Christ who came to warn us verbally? Is it the church who continues to proclaim the word and give the warnings? Or is it the person who ignores all of those warnings and continues to do their own thing? Unfortunately this does not just affect the person who ignores the warnings but all who come into contact with them. We have seen stark pictures of how physical distancing can stop the spread of a virus – but some people choose to ignore those warnings and they place everyone they are in contact with into the same danger they expose themselves to.
When a person chooses to openly ignore God’s warnings, they are showing all the people around them it is OK to ignore the warnings. Some of those people will see them doing wrong and choose to follow that example. Some people will simply give in from the struggle against evil and go with the flow. These are the people God is warning who will not get the chance to go to Heaven!
Points to Ponder:
Do you uphold God’s word?
Will you show others it is good and right to follow God’s word?
