On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

 He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Matthew 7 : 24 - 27

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Matthew 7: 21 - 23

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Matthew 25 : 31 - 46

Early one morning as a Grandfather and his grandson were walking along the beach they came across a starfish that had washed up on the shore during high tide.The grandson reached down and gently picked up the starfish, still moist and alive. “It’s beautiful, Grandpa, what’s going to happen to it?” the boy asked.The grandfather replied that the starfish would eventually die. Sensing his grandson’s sadness, he quickly explained it was okay because the starfish would become a source of food for other sea creatures. He told the boy that he should not be sad because it is all part of the cycle of life.

The boy replied, “You mean it’s going to die, grandpa?”A few minutes later, the grandfather sat down to read his newspaper and enjoy his morning coffee. After awhile, he noticed that his grandson had wandered down the beach. He called out, “Son, what are you doing?”The young boy paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing the starfish back into the ocean.”“I can see that. I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing the starfish in the ocean?”“The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”

“Oh, son, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. Not only on this beach, but thousands of beaches all around the world. You can’t possibly make a difference!”With childlike wisdom the grandson politely listened. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, far past the breaking waves. The young boy said, “That is true, but … I am making all the difference in the world to just this one.”