09/03/2026
From Sara Thomas:
Don’t Just Wear the Jersey
This entry is dedicated to my pastor, Dan Keaton.
Have you ever been sitting in church excited to hear God’s message, when all of a sudden, your pastor starts dissing on your goats? You know, calling them evil and whatnot?
No? Just me?
Well, this did happen to me, but my pastor wasn’t really trying to call my goats evil, although many of us in the church liked to joke with him about it. He was actually referring to Matthew 25:31-46, in which Jesus describes a day where he separates His people just as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. The scripture says, “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” It goes on to say that those on the right are blessed. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me.” (Matthew 25:35-36).
Those on the left, however, are described in verse 41 as “cursed.” In verses 42-43, it reads, “For 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.”
Finally, verse 46 tells us: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Ouch.
So you can see why maybe I was a little sensitive about my goats; it is very obvious in this story that the sheep are the good guys and goats are, well… not. In the story, the goats rejected God and failed to show love and compassion to others, which, just as a reminder, we are supposed to be doing as Christians and followers of Jesus.
So, which team do you want to be on: the sheep or the goats? The winners or the losers?
Anyone who has grown up in a small town knows what it means to pick a team. On Friday nights, you wear the school colors; you cheer from the stands; you know who you’re rooting for before the game even starts. No one wants to spend the evening cheering for the team that you know is going to lose. But choosing Jesus isn’t just about choosing the winning team. It’s also about living like you’re ON His team!
In Matthew 25, Jesus says the sheep are those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the needy, and visited the sick and imprisoned. When the sheep ask when they did these things for Him, Jesus tells them in verse 40, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” So now the question is less about “Which team are you on?” and more about, “Does the way I live show which team I’m on?”
Sheep don’t have to announce that they are sheep. You can tell by the way they follow their shepherd. Jesus isn’t asking us to simply wear the right colors and claim the winning team. He is also asking us to follow Him. The world will constantly give us teams to choose from: success or surrender, selfishness or service, pride or humility, bitterness or forgiveness. But if we're following the Good Shepherd, our lives should begin to look like His.
Are you a reflection of the team you’re on?
Thanks Sara!
