I changed the first time I read Matthew 25:40 “whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine you have done for me.” For the first time I realized that the life of Christian is to be marked by works of compassion for those who need it most. More importantly, however, something in my heart clicked. This was the life I wanted to live; I wanted to spend my life helping people. In short time it crystalized into a sense of calling to the ministry of God.
Matthew 25 as a chapter is formed of three parables. The first is the parable of the ten virgins. Ten maidens are waiting for the Bridegroom to announce the wedding feast. Five have brought spare oil, five have not. The ones who are prepared enter into the feast; the ones who are not…show more content… In this parable a master leaves his great fortune with three of his servants. Two of them double his wealth by the time he returns. The third, however, insults his master and throws the money back in his face. He is then cast from the master’s house into the streets where he suffers the tribulation.
The commonly understood moral is that God has given each of us good things to be used for the furtherance of his kingdom. To waste his good gifts is an insult, and we will be punished. It is similar to what James meant when he said “Faith without works is dead.” We may not be saved by our works but if we do not produce good fruits then our Faith is proven meaningless. In this light, I especially like the image of giving the money to a bank to earn interest: even the least bit of good works proves our faith is real and powerful to save.
The final parable is called the parable of the sheep and the goats. When the Lord returns he will call his own to paradise, saying that what they have done for “the least of these brothers of mine” they have done for him. Meanwhile he will send all others into destruction for they have not done these things for him. The moral is if we serve those who need help our service is taken as if it was done for God