In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus spoke:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Most of “Christiandom” do not want to study these particular Words of Jesus. The essence of Agape Love is found in these Words. You can claim to walk in unconditional Love but your acts and your bank account will tell the tale.
Jesus covered the necessities of life when he mentioned food, drink, shelter, and clothing. Are you and I actively assisting those in need of the basics of life? Jesus went on to include sickness. Are we ministering to those we know who are sick, or do we keep our distance? Are they of a lower priority than the mundane tasks requiring our attention but have no lasting value? Shouldn’t we be building up our faith in the area of healing Scriptures so that we can minister the Word to them?
What about prisoner visitation? Virtually everyone knows someone in prison these days. One who is in prison suffers severe isolation from loved ones and experiences the shame of past acts. How many of us have sinned in the past and suffered shame ourselves? Do you think the prisoner came into this life planning to become incarcerated? All prisoners are in need of Agape Love.
There is a fine line between society’s definition of sin and FATHER’S definition of sin in many instances. Society is bloodthirsty and often wants those who perpetrated a crime to suffer forever. The church is not innocent either. It has promoted an eternal hell which dilutes the power of Agape Love. If we all received what we deserved for past acts and current thoughts, virtually none of us would qualify to be in Heaven. Only The Blood of Jesus Christ qualifies us to enter through those gates.
When did Jesus know that Judas would betray Him? Yet Jesus embraced Judas throughout His earthly ministry. Had Jesus revealed the betrayer to the disciples, Peter might have taken action against Judas. Has Agape Love left Judas in hell to suffer forever?
Jesus spoke in Revelation chapter 1:
18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
What is the point of having a key unless you plan to unlock the door? Those in hell and death are the ultimate prisoners yet Agape Love is not moved by their past. The ultimate act of forgiveness is to release men (including Judas) from hell and death, this is what Agape Love does. What are you going to do? Jesus makes it quite clear in Matthew chapter 25:
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Agape Love was prevailing in the lives of the righteous ones. They acted above and beyond society’s standards and embraced unconditional Love. Their blindness had been removed which allowed them to see beyond the temporal.
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the age lasting punishment fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
Those who were entrenched in blindness will try to justify their unwillingness to walk in Agape Love:
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Jesus is in charge of dividing the sheep from the goats and He explains the primary difference in the two groups: those who walk in Agape Love and those who don’t. These are His Words, not mine.