For The Record...

"For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." Romans 14:11-12 (NKJV)

The Apostle Paul spoke truthfully and for those of us who believe God, there's no question that we'll stand before Him to answer for the lives that we've lived here. For those who don't believe and scoff at the idea that they'll be called to account before the God who created everything - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their inheritance will be the terror of fools who have chosen their own lot of horror for eternity. We can contend for them while they live momentarily, but when their flesh passes, so will their opportunity to change course. Repentance and acceptance of Christ now is their only hope.

For those of us who claim to follow Christ and believe God, the rubber of reality hits the road of truth when we begin to force ourselves to consider factually what we will actually say when we come face to face with the holy perfection of the One True Judge and the true account of our past is measured against what He told us in faithful warning. It'll be the moment when all of our cards are placed face up on the table with nothing hidden and no opportunity to edit the record of what we thought, spoke or did in the life that we lived. It will then be the record of our past.  

This will take place in the process of Christ's sorting the sheep from the goats - of His true followers and believers of God from the half-hearted lovers, fakers and nonbelievers. It'll be then that everything about us will be laid bare...

                                            ...What will we say then in our defense?

Will we say that we loved Him? 

                                                       Did we?

“If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15 (NKJV)

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."  1 John 3:18-23 (NKJV)

Will we say that we believed Him? If so, did our belief, or faith in Him, prove true enough to have such an effect on us that it bore actual, discernable fruit in our lives? Was it real enough that it changed the way that we thought and talked, the way we acted, our values, and our love for those that God loves? Was it tangible- not just figurative?

"But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."  James 2:18-24 (NKJV)

Even though our good works alone cannot save us, our faith and true submission to God brings about changes in us that naturally lead us into changed behavior and thinking that results in good works as we naturally become more devoted to, and like, the One that we've come to love above all else and all others. And that evidence of our true faith and our relationship with Christ will show in the record of our lives set before Him on judgment day - that record that we're living right now. That fruit will be something revealing that we will not have need to be ashamed of in our account if we live it out in truth and sincerity. If these things weren't important, the Holy Spirit wouldn't have spoken of them through so many witnesses in scripture.

I've lived and walked with our Lord long enough to realize a truth that I've heard others mention more than once. It's essentially that the closer that we draw near to God, the more that the magnitude of our flaws are exposed to us. I think this is true because the shining light of God's pure righteousness stands out more and more as we come to know Him more closely and the shabbiness of our own righteousness is revealed. It's just a truth that we need to come to accept and I believe that on the day of judgment, it will be never more evident to us that our only hope is found in the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection and that salvation is nothing that we could have ever earned. I believe that all of this is because we imperfect beings are perfectly created to bring glory to God before all witnesses in the heavens and on earth of the mercy, grace, and awesome love made available to us in the perfection of God's plan of salvation through Christ Jesus... and that through Him we're able to have lasting hope and joy.

Our record though, the one that Jesus will have before Him on that day is the one that we're writing now, hour by hour and day by day. Will the fruit of our lives, our works- those things that we think say and do speak for us as true evidence of our faith on that day? Or will it be our words alone? What do you and I want to be made to account for? What in our record will speak to the heart of Christ about our true love for Him? Things to be reminded to think about going forward.

I will contend that even beyond the hope of my salvation, my true motivation should be to respond to the love of God through Christ in all earnestness and sincerity with a true love and pure passion that does its best, as it is able to draw from the deepest depths within, to mirror that of my God's love and passion for me and bear witness of His glory. For this, you and I were born and given breath. This is life's purpose. 

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all."  

Colossians 3:1-11 (NKJV)

For the record, it's not too late for any of us to live a better record while we still have whatever time the Lord allows to be left to us. Who of us knows when that end comes?

In Scripture...

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 (NKJV)