SeanDietrich.com

SOME SHEEP ARE REALLY GOATS
By Sean Dietrich

We waited in this big place. Billions of people crowded together. Through the middle of the huge crowd, He came walking slowly. The pictures of him from Sunday school were bogus. He looked like an average guy. You know, normal.

The crowd was going nuts, whispering to one another "That's Jesus!... It's the Judgment." I was getting scared now. Everyone around me seemed to know what was up. I didn't have the bible memorized. I didn't have a clue what was going on.

The group behind me started happily singing a song together. "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." Now I was really starting to freak out. So I asked this lady if she knew what was going on. She told me this was the judgment. My heart was beating faster now. I wished those happy singers would shut up.

She said I'd go to Hell if I wasn't a real Christian. "But I am a Christian!" I pleaded. She told me that real Christians are people who believe in Jesus, get filled with the Holy Spirit, get baptized, go to church, obey their pastor, read their bible, evangelize the lost, pray, tithe, and sing worship songs.

Uh oh.

Then 2 giant angels started dividing the crowd into 2 halves. This went on for a while. The lady I was talking to smiled as an angel led her over to the other half of the crowd. I was feeling sick. Her half of the crowd was filled with rejoicing people. They were hugging, shaking hands, and giving each other high fives.

However, my group took on a more serious tone. There was even a guy beside me who was crying. I didn't like being grouped with crying people at the Judgment. But who was I kidding? I wasn't anything like that perfect lady I was talking to. I'd always thought churches were nothing but social clubs filled with hypocrites. And now, all those church people looked so excited.

Then we saw Him again. He walked up to the top of the stairs slowly. "I'll bet some of you are wondering what is about to happen." He was right. "This is the time many of you have been waiting for. This is the Judgment of the nations."

I thought I was going to faint.

Then he descended the stairs and came to the man who was crying next to me. He took his hand. You could have heard a pin drop. "Do you remember when you took care of your sick brother while he was dying?"

The crying man replied, "Uh.Yeah.I could never forget that"

"Why did you take care of him?" He asked kindly. We all listened closely.

"I had to take care of him Lord. I couldn't just abandon him. He's my brother."

He smiled. "Then why are you crying? For what you've done for your brother, you've done to me." The man looked shocked.

He looked at an older woman who was beside me. "Do you remember when you befriended that young single mother by inviting her to dinner?"

"Who, me? Yes I remember Lord." The woman was surprised.

"Why did you befriend her?"

"Lord, she was my friend. Her husband left her. I couldn't just leave her."

"Daughter, when you befriended her, you were befriending Me!" He said joyfully.

And then it happened. Just like that. He looked straight at me. O CRAP! This was it! I was going straight to Hell.

He asked me. "Friend, do you remember when you helped that man change his tire on the side of the road?"

What!? Did he just call me friend? "Uh, yeah... I kinda remember." I said weakly.

"Well, I remember when you did it! Because you were actually helping me change my tire!" He said with a giant smile. "Whatever you've done to the smallest one of my brothers, you've actually done to me."

You could have knocked me over with a feather.

"My dear ones, you did these things because My love runs out of you like a fountain. You didn't do them for rewards. You did them because you're my friends!"

But if we were his friends, who were all those other people?

Then He turned to the other crowd. "I'm truly sorry to say this to you, but I didn't ever know you. You wouldn't let me." He was crying now. "You were so busy doing church stuff that you ignored me!"

"Wait a second Lord!" A man cried out. "I led our church's youth outreach program every summer. Doesn't that count for anything?"

With tears in His eyes, He looked at the man in the crowd. "Do you remember your father?" The man's face turned pale white. "He died alone. You handed out tracts every summer instead making amends with your own father. Don't you see? By refusing your father, you refused me!"

"Over here Jesus!" A large woman waved her hand. "What about me? I prophesied in your name! I even saw people get healed in our church services when I laid hands on them! What about me Lord?"

He looked at her sadly. "Do you remember the homeless pregnant girl I sent to you? You were too busy with your women's ministry to let her stay with you. You sent her away to the homeless shelter instead. That was my little girl you sent away! You refused ME!"

The crowd of happy people had quit singing now. They were completely silent. He looked down sadly and said to them, "I didn't know any of you. You wouldn't let me. You refused my brothers. You refused me. Go away from me."

On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me.
--Jesus