Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said, ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We don't like to think of a time of Judgement, no-one does, but the messages of good news that fill us with hope for eternal life needs to be balanced by the opposite. Jesus calls us to love God and each other and to be God's children in the world enabling His kingdom of love to continue to grow until He returns. But he warns that when he returns there will be a time of judgement.

In a number of parables Jesus speaks of judgement (see Matthew 13.24-30 or Luke 16.19-31) and in the parable of the dragnet he says that at the end, the Kingdom will be like a fishing net which gathers all kinds of fish, before they are sorted. So God will gather all people, dividing the good from the bad. Until this time the world will remain divided - there will be righteous people and there will be wicked people. The Church should continue its work of bringing people to God, but only at the end will God's Kingdom be complete. As for hell, well we don't really know what this will be like, although films and pictures are full of gory details. For me, some kind of expulsion from God would be hell!

Heavenly Father,
Your Son, our Lord,
taught us to stay close to You,
and to follow Your commands
as loving children,
but all too often we go our own way.
Help us to remember
that there will be a time
of retribution and judgement.
May we truly seek forgiveness
and endeavour to change our ways now.
Amen.