“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NKJV)
Like in most households, when our kids were little they knew that if and when they acted up at someone’s house, punishment awaited upon returning home. I can still hear the laughter, etc. coming from the back seat and the “I love you Dad” as they climbed out of the car and scampered to their bedrooms. Hoping I had forgotten, they thought they might go unpunished. They quickly snugged up in their beds … then I opened the bedroom door. The shock and awe on their little faces reflected the reality of what was coming.
Are we not like that as adults in many respects? Think about it.
It has always seemed to be a bit of a paradox … so many have such a keen interest in the future … while at the same time dismissing any relevance of the Lord’s second coming “… to judge the world in righteousness.” (Acts 17:31)
Over the years, I have wondered how it is that the Bible affirms a coming Day of Judgment and that all men will meet that appointment without any ability or privilege to somehow reschedule or postpone the meeting. (Hebrews 9:27) And yet …
Somehow, we have accepted the notion that it really doesn’t matter how we live … that we don’t have to be accountable to anyone for our choices. Satan has scored many a win with this kind of reasoning. Has he been successful with you?
Just wondering, how do you feel about the second coming of the Lord? Do you believe it to be true? Are you ready since the Bible affirms in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, that His coming “will be as a thief in the night.”
Justice from God will ultimately be served. Because it has not happened yet, we must not be distracted from its coming!
Yes, God is a God of love, grace, mercy, and peace. But He is also a God who is just and will mete out divine justice when it is needed! Don’t be fooled … deceived into thinking it’s not all that important to live and please and serve God! Actually, it is a matter of life or death … eternal life or death!
Paul admonished the brethren in Romans 11:22 to give thought to “… the goodness and the severity of God.”
The principle of being “just” is to be “fair, evenhanded, and impartial.” We must realize that the One true and living God will always be fair! Why? Because even the justice He metes out is executed in love, as an act of His pure love for us.
Justice is not some sort of external system that He strives to follow. The most basic point to make about justice is that its source and foundation is God’s holy nature. He himself is the standard of right and wrong.
Scripture declares “He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Make no mistake … God does mean exactly what He has said He will do and what He expects each of us to do!
Peter said the delay is not a delay of indifference, impotence, or distraction; it is a delay of patience. God created us to be with Him forever! He does not want anyone to be lost, but everyone must surrender their will to His in complete obedience! (2 Peter 3:9)
May I speak frankly with you … Heaven, as the old hymn teaches … will surely be worth it all! You don’t want to miss it! What makes Heaven is the everlasting presence of the Lord … and what makes Hell is the everlasting absence of the Lord! Friend … give some serious thought to these truths.
“Knowing, therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:11)
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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