The Sheep and the Goats

In the autumn of 1991, Pauline and I had a holiday in Crete to celebrate our Silver Wedding anniversary. Whuilst we were there we hired a car and drove up into the mountains. It was a classic mountain road which cling to the slope and wound its way upwards. From time to time we would stop as we reached a plateau and wonder at this sudden flat and level area among the tall craggy mountains.

As we reached the point from which many tourists set off to walk the famous Samarian Gorge it was another plateau. We emerged from the steep climbing road and suddenly before us was a flock of sheep and a herd of goats being led across the road by a shepherd/goatherd. My mind immediately went back to the Gospel of Matthew and the story told by Jesus of the separation of the sheep from the goats. Here they were already grazing separately!

But the story told is a hard one for many. It distinguishes the Christians from the rest of life. It is saying very loudly, "Will the real Christian stand up, please!" What we learn from the story is that we are to be judged on the basis of what we do or do not do. So there are no points for the one who sits amiably on the fence and does nothing for safety's sake. Being a Christian is about doing something for your neighbour that is for his well being. It is also about not doing anything which will be to his detriment.

The aim of a Christian is to make a difference to the lives of others. We exist and work to make others find the same joy as we have found. Everyone needs a reason for living - a "raison d'etre" as it is in French. An early discovery in life that I made is that "Christianity is a practical way of life." It is simple, very uncomplicated, and leads a person to real happiness. More than that it leads us to peace itself. Not the peace which is the absence of war or violence but the presence of everything that is good for our well being. When Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you," He was leaving a fantastic legacy of huge value.

Let that peace find its way into the life of humanity and watch the difference it makes. It is an incredibly slow process because of its nature, but it is absolutely certain. For instance, I never thought I would live to see the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the demolition of the Berlin Wall. But it was the peace of God that worked through until it won. Look at how the churches in those former communist countries are growing. People thought they had been wiped out. But they were there all through, comforting the people, feeding their sheep until the day of deliverance.

Never underestimate the power of the love of God. It is capable of demolishing hatred itself. I watched a video film the other day called "Force 10 from Navarone". Two men carried bags of explosives to the very base of a huge reservoir dam. They were surprised to find the fuses lasted only 20 seconds. They assumed they would be killed in a just cause. But the explosion seemed to make no difference. The dam remained solid. After a few minutes, when the men had returned to their colleagues the cracks began to appear and the dam burst as planned by the explosives expert. It just took a little waiting before the results could be seen.

On a greater scale, our seemingly soft and stupid "way of peace" takes a long time to break down the resistance of the world, but eventually it works. When a farmer sows seed he does not expect to wake up the next day to a full crop, ready for harvest. So we have to keep working at it until we succeed.

A story is told of a meeting between the leaders of the Allies of World War two. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt were discussing how they would win the war. Winston Churchill took a spoon and began scooping up water from the ornamental pond. He demonstrated that it would take a long time to empty the pond but eventually he would do the job. Thaty is how it works with the love of God. Thanks be to God that this is true.