Jesus' wish list

Who remembers when large retail stores like JC Penney and Sears sent a 2-inch thick catalog in the mail?
But then, oh my goodness, you’d receive the “Christmas Edition.” This one was only about 1 inch thick but it was something spectacular! It contained just about any toy imaginable.
I remember how awesome it was to page through it, dreaming about everything I wanted. My parents allowed us to make a “wish list” of the items we wanted.
How about you? Did you get a chance to make a wish list?
As we get older, our wishes change from toys to things like wishing for the perfect job or we wish for the perfect person to spend the rest of our lives with. Our wish list could go on and on.
But why do we wish? Because we are human and that’s just what we do.
However, I believe Jesus has a wish list. After all, he was once human. For 33 years he walked among average people.
But his wishes are different; his wishes are much more grand. His wishes aren’t self-indulgent like ours. Some may imagine his wish list may include world peace, end to world hunger, or no more poverty. I’m sure these are things he wants, but these are things he could make happen.
I think his wish is for us to do what is right and good. Something he cannot make happen like changing our free will, making our own decisions.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:31-33: “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.”
At Jesus’ second coming, all those who are left on earth will be wandering around, and Jesus will have to separate them as the example of the sheep and the goats.
Continuing with Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.’”
He is saying that the sheep, or the righteous, will be blessed for taking the time and effort to help and minister to those who were in need.
But wait … Matthew 25:41: “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.’”
Now we have the goats. And trust me, you don’t want to be a goat! The goats, those who refuse to choose others first, well, they’re going to spend eternity in darkness.
I believe Jesus wants us to be like the sheep. He wants everyone to find salvation through him.
Jesus’ wish is that not a single person on earth would die and spend eternity in darkness.
Jesus’ wish is that he wants to tell each one of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
There isn’t a more perfect time to turn your heart to him, to start your new life, while celebrating the beginning of our Savior’s life.
Oh, and … “don’t be a goat”!