Sorting Laundry

I love to do laundry.
That may sound strange, but I really do!
I don’t like to iron, however.
I iron because it is necessary, but I do not enjoy doing it.

But laundry…that’s different!

We are all tall in our family, so consequently many things do not go in the dryer.
My husband hung nice racks in my laundry room so I could hang jeans, pants, dresses, shirts…anything that cannot, out of sheer necessity, shrink.

Two friends have given me pictures of Amish clothes lines.
They are hanging in my laundry room.
Unfortunately, no one seems to hang clothes out to dry anymore.
So the rack in my laundry room is the next best thing.

As I was doing laundry, and sorting the clothes, I was remembering the tutorial that each of my children got as they learned to do laundry.
Separate the clothes.
Whites in one load…colors in the other.

We all know the feeling of opening the washer and seeing that a pink shirt somehow got mixed in with the white clothes…that are not totally white anymore.
Or the jeans that need to be washed before wearing…and they weren’t.

Even with the mishaps that occasionally have happened through the years, there is something so satisfying in doing laundry.
I love the way clean clothes smell.
I love the fluffy towels.
I even love all the piles, when someone comes home from college.

I was imagining God sorting laundry.

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. 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. (Matthew 25:32, 33)

God doesn’t separate His laundry on the basis of color or sort by fabric content, but He does have criteria for sorting.

Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the beginning of the world. 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, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.” (Matthew 25:34-36)

The sheep on His right will be confused because they know they never did these things for Him. He will remind them,“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40)

The goats on the left are told to depart from Him because they did not feed Him, or clothe Him, or tend to Him when he was sick, or visit Him in prison. They are confused, as well, since they knew they never refused to help Him. But He explained, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not to do for one of the least of these you did not do for Me.” (Matthew 25:45)

God takes our service to others very seriously.
When we serve them, we serve Him.
When we fail to serve them, we fail to serve Him.
Sheep and goats…sorting…stained or clean.

God’s greatest desire is to be with His people.
From the Tabernacle in the wilderness to the Incarnation of Immanuel (God with us), God longs to be with the ones He loves.

On day, He will be with us, when He comes back again, as we are told in Revelation.
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne  saying,”Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God...” (Revelation 21:2,3)

Like the clothes that are now ruined because of the stain that has permanently set in, the goats on the left will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
(Matthew 25:46)

God’s final sorting.
Until then…grace.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation. (2 Peter:14,15)