From Matthew 25 in the telling of parables.

The Final Judgment

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

This parable was given as a warning thousands of years before the final judgment. We can read and heed or we can ignore the warnings.

You might notice I left out several lines of scripture which indicate why the lambs and goat were separated. In doing so I want to focus on the personalities of the animals rather than what those missing verses reveal.

Sheep follow the shepherd, respond to His voice. Goats are stubborn, do not respond to a voice and must be driven by force. The goats are not cooperative.

When the day of final judgment comes and the separation begins, the goats will cry out loudly, “That isn’t fair!”

Now we should look at the reasoning behind that division.

 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

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 welcome me

The God of all creation takes our behaviors personally. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

He says that He will separate them before He explains why.

I know it is just a parable, a warning. So I have to ask this of myself. Did I warn the lost?

Maybe that is what I am doing now. Is anyone listening?