The Great Day of God
Sheep and goats are not the same. Neither are those who love and obey compared to those who don’t!
Jesus tells a story about His soon return—and about sheep and goats. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31, 32).
Can you tell the difference between a sheep and a goat?
• Have fluffy wool that needs shearing.
• Their tails point downward.
• If they have horns, they curl around on the side of their head.
• They like to eat grass and plants with their head to the ground.
• They stay in groups to be safe.
• They are happy to stay inside their fence.
• They are gentle and don’t like loud noises.
• They listen to the shepherd and are easy to handle if he is kind to them.
• They have a good memory about whom they can trust.
• Have a flat, hairy coat and a beard.
• Their tails point upward.
• Their horns are on the top of their head.
• They eat anything, mostly leaves and twigs with their head up.
• Sometimes they go back on their hind legs to get something higher up.
• They do not stay together; they explore wherever they want.
• They are good at climbing and do not try to stay inside their fence.
• They do whatever they want and eat whatever they like, even poisonous plants.
• They are smart about knowing how to avoid being attacked.
Why does the shepherd take his sheep to be apart from the goats? Mostly because at the end of the day, they will all need to come into a fold for shelter. It is more crowded inside there, so the goats may try to fight against the sheep. Fighting is not good for any in God’s creation.
Jesus says the shepherd “shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:33, 34).
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus divides all the people at the end. The sheep are those who have obeyed His voice and have been kind to others in need. He Himself is known as the Lamb of God. But the goats are those who were selfish and did not care about helping anyone else. (See Matthew 25:35–46.)
The choice to obey and follow the Good Shepherd is ours: “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations” (Psalm 79:13).—BHM.