The Sheep And The Goats

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33)

“Separate” is such a sad word. It is one thing to separate a mother from her daughter, or a father from a son, or a husband from a wife. It is another thing to separate people for eternity especially when one group is going to be with God forever and the other group is not. Jesus tells us about two categories of people that He will separate from each other one day: the sheep and the goats.

This would have been a very familiar picture if you lived back in biblical times because shepherds usually had mixed flocks. The shepherd had sheep and the shepherd had goats, but where the sheep preferred the open air and could be left in a pasture at night, goats were more susceptible to the cold. They had to be kept warm and so they needed shelter. The shepherd cared for the goats, but he had a special love for the sheep, because that is what makes the shepherd the shepherd. Sheep follow the shepherd. Goats are very stubborn.

This is where we need to pay attention. The shepherd knows those who belong to him as sheep. The shepherd knows those who reject him as the goats. And one day, all of us will be in one category or the other. It will depend on our relationship to the shepherd. But you can be sure that one day there will be a spiritual separation.

If you are a child of God – you have surrendered your life to Christ and accepted His free gift of salvation – then you will be categorized as a sheep. But if you have not made that decision to trust and follow Jesus, right now you would be categorized as a goat. If that latter is true for you, I pray that today would be the day you turn from your sin and place your faith in Jesus, not only so you can live a life that honors Him on this earth, but also so you can spend eternity in His presence.

Dear Lord, when the time comes to separate the sheep from the goats, I want to be grouped with the sheep. I pray that I would live my life fully surrendered to you, trusting in you, and following you for the rest of my days on this earth, and that I will look forward to spending eternity with you in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.