ECCLESIASTES 12:13-14 – The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE SERIOUSNESS OF LIFE. Imagine for a moment this picture. Last night, we were awakened by the Lord. He appeared in our room and said, “My child. This is the last week of your life on earth. A week from today I am calling you into eternity, to Myself. Prepare to meet Me.” Now as the Lord left our room and we got up off the floor overwhelmed by what just happened, would such an encounter radically change our already scheduled plans for the coming week? Would some things we planned suddenly drop off our calendar? Would spiritual things we know we should have done all of a sudden get high priority in our lives? Would the pleasures and things of the world be so small in our lives and actually drop out of our lives? Would our parenting take on more spiritual emphasis on Christ instead of achievements, activities, and accomplishments? Would our leisure time be wasted away on the things of the world? Would our marriages find a deeper commitment to the Lordship of Christ? Would our jobs be suddenly seen as mission fields where complaining about anyone or anything disappears? If we would have to answer, “Oh, yes, my life would change a lot”, then I suggest we need to get alone with our Bibles before the Lord and do some soul-searching because we are not in a good spiritual place. Should any Christian have to alter their worldview, lifestyle, and stewardship of their lives because their time to meet the Lord has been revealed to them reveals a Christian entrenched in worldliness. The Bible clearly and repeatedly tells God’s people to live with an eye on eternity preparing for the day we face Jesus which could be any day, even today. In all actuality, should we be striving to live the Biblical definition of being a follower of Christ and we are told a week from today we are going to face Him, we should not have to make much, if any, alterations in our life. We should already be living as consecrated, weaned from the world Christians for that is the call and standard of those Jesus makes His own.

When we read our Bibles the themes of Christ’s sudden return and our personal judgment abound throughout. I know judgment isn’t a popular topic, even among Christians. I was recently in a conversation with a professing Christian and I brought this topic up. The immediate response was, “I don’t want to talk about that.” I tried to press it with the words, “It doesn’t go away because we ignore it.” And for some reason there are Christians who want to either ignore or deny the Biblical truth that God is going to judge them – completely, thoroughly, and objectively. It won’t be a judgment of sin for Christ bore this on the cross, but it will be an absolute judgment of the stewardship of our lives – how we lived it, who we lived it for, what got the best of our time, where did our resources of time, money, and talents primarily go. If you are a Christian who wants to deny personal judgment or are ignorant of this truth, please meditate on today’s scripture and the following – Matthew 12:36-37; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 2:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; and Matthew 25:31-46. Friends, we cannot ignore this, rationalize it away, or try to say, “No judgment, we are under grace.” The very fact God tells us we are going to be judged is a display of grace. It is a warning of love to be prepared for such a day.

A passage of scripture thrilling the soul of the believer and warning about this day of accounting is found in Psalm 19. It reads, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:7-11). Notice how it ends . . . with a warning, but a warning attached to a positive – potential rewards. This means Judgment Day. The concluding words read, “in keeping them there is great reward” which points to a day of accountability. Beloved, let’s learn to live with the right priorities as if Jesus did tell us this is our last week on earth. Some week in the future, it will be . . . live accordingly.

PRAYER: “Father, teach me to remember life in this world is serious, short, and is to be lived accordingly.”

QUOTE: “God’s warnings to us are displays of God’s love to us and a proper response is thankfulness”