I'm reading The Hole in our Gospel: The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World, by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision.
In one part, he talks about Matthew 25 where Jesus describes the final judgment where people will be separated into sheep (those who fed the hungry, clothed the clotheless, cared after the sick and neglected--those who were truly transformed by Christ's message) and goats (those who did not feed the hungry or care for neglected, etc--those whose lives were not transformed by Christ.)
Heaven is prepared for the sheep because they fed the hungry, gave a drink to the thirsty, cared for the sick and visited prisoners--in turn, actually feeding and caring for Jesus himself because as he says, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because Richard Stearns paraphrases part of this scripture in a really poignant way. Here's the original text from the Bible where Jesus dismisses the goats because:
"I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."
And he paraphrases it:
For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved."
Isn't that gripping? That passage in Matthew 25 is always a startling passage to me, but in this paraphrase, it is even more convicting.
