Matt. 25
In the parable of the sheep and goats, what is the standard God uses for the final judgment? What are you currently doing “for the least of these?” There is only one God; there is only one law. The law is simple at its core and is based on God’s character. Love God and love others. This is one law because you can’t do one without the other. If we don’t love others, we don’t love God. And we can’t truly love others, with a complete love, if we do not love God. So the final judgment comes down to one thing, as confirmed by Jesus’ other parables in this chapter. Are we or are we not true servants of God?
Jer. 17-18
Compare and contrast the one who trusts in man with the one who trusts in the Lord. I just keep seeing the same message everywhere I read in the Bible. They say nothing is certain except death and taxes, but I believe we need to add one more thing to that list. Suffering. All of creation is cursed because of man’s sin. Thus all of creation faces hardship. God has promised to restore all creation, and He will. Until that time, however, we choose where to place our trust. Note that who or what we trust does not change the hardship. Heat and draught still come. What changes is the outcome. God’s promise isn’t that we will avoid suffering. His promise is that we can endure it.