Like the Presidential candidates, I have ascended on Ohio - Cleveland to be exact - and while they will come and go in the final hours of the campaign, I plan on staying here a few days.
Driving in Cleveland is not difficult, but as I was temporarily disoriented for a few moments we smelled a stench that only comes from the deep inner cities of America. At first, I thought it could have been the Browns but they only lost by 10; yet their record is dismal so that could very well be it.
In any case, as I was driving in the city, so were thousands of others doing the exact same thing. At that moment, a few words came tumbling back to my mind:
'...It is appointed once for men to die, then the judgment.'
Hebrews 9:27
You see, Ben Franklin was wrong; well, half wrong - death and taxes are certainties but in actuality you don't have to pay taxes. If that was a must, then more than 50% of Americans would be paying taxes.
No, there are three things all men must do and paying taxes isn't one of them.
All men on earth have a life to live, a death to die and a judgment to face.
The truth is all people MUST be born. You and I didn't choose to be born, we didn't choose what families we would enter, we didn't choose our environments nor our circumstances at birth - and yet, we were born.
We had no control over our birth.
But we do have control over the results of that birth - the life we live - and we must live the life stemming from our births.
Secondly, while we have a life to live, there is a death to die.
Every person is terminal; at some point we are all going to die. Some will die sooner than others, but death stares at us in the mirror every morning but we don't usually begin to recognize his look until we are in our 40's.
We seen the graying hair.
We feel the aching muscles.
We remember the scares on our bodies.
We are inflicted by the memories of the past we'd like to forget.
All of which remind us of our impending date with deity; yet, we try to ignore it and forget about it because we are not comfortable with death.
You see, in our modern era, we have done all we can to put the idea of death out of our minds; to cover it up so we can forget about it. We don't usually see people die at home anymore; no, we seclude them to a hospital bed away from everyone else.
And we don't see people die in the pain diseases inflict anymore; no, the miracle of modern medicine dulls that facet today. We use the code words of 'making them comfortable' to put people out of their misery and out of their minds as they slowly die.
And when they pass away, they are no longer buried in a cold graveyard with ancient headstones; no, today we take them to cemetaries that are as beautiful as public parks and 'lay them at rest.'
In all of these things, we have tried to dull the thought of death; but as I have been reminded all too soon - the iron grip of disease and death is near. We cannot stop his onslaugt, only delay his coming.
The final thing all men must do - we must face God in the judgment.
The truth is that we can't do anything about being born; we didn't choose to enter life but we have.
We can't choose when or how we will die; but we will die.
And when we die, we must stand before God and be judged by His holy standard.
When you have cancer, you automatically know that your life expectancy has been cut back tremendously. Now, I expect God to do something powerful with my situation; even though I do not know what He's got planned. But I also know, barring His miraculous touch throughout my body, I'm probably not going to live the average 78.2 years of the American male.
With that said, when you have cancer, you begin to think more and more about the judgment you are going to face very soon. I do not doubt my salvation; never have. But I do doubt, regret, and even despise some of the choices I've made during my life.
You see, my salvation was settled long ago - long before I understood what this thing of being a 'Christian' was all about. It was settled long before I was called to the ministry. It was settled even when I was unsettled.
But we are not judged according to our salvation; we are judged according to our works. Many Christians don't understand this truth - we are saved by grace through faith, but we are judged according to our works. If you don't believe me, see Ephesians 2 and Revelation 20.
Here's the thing - there is a date set in eternity that has been chosen by God for me to meet him face-to-face. I didn't pick that date, but I'm going to be there. The same is true for you as well.
At this point, I am not scared to meet Him; but I am disappointed in myself for some of the things I have done in my life.
With this in mind, there is something that keeps coming back to me - there's no sadness or tears in heaven. And this is a great encouragement to me.
I heard of this man and woman who decided they needed marriage counseling but couldn't afford it. So, they decided to write on a piece of paper all the things that 'bugged' them about the other and place the paper in a jar, piece by piece.
At the end of the week, the husband read each one of his wife's complaints: 'dirty socks on the floor,' 'didn't wash dishes,' etc. Things of this nature. Then the wife pulled out her husbands' complaints.
Her's read, 'snapped at me...but I forgive you.'
'Clothes on the washer...but I forgive you.'
'Late with no phone call...but I forgive you.'
Do you understand?
In heaven, a person is with Christ and that is why there are no tears or saddness in heaven. Yet, there is one thing in heaven that is more abundant than we can ever know on earth - grace. Grace is similar to a pardon; it is something we don't deserve, but God gives us anyway because He loves us. On earth you can receive that grace through repentance; in heaven, grace is overflowing from the throne for His children.
I imagine most are frightened of standing before God and being judged. But I believe that as we are judged as His children, He will speak our sins and then say, 'I have forgiven this...'
On that day, only then will we realize the depths of His wonderful mercy and grace; for it will shout His glory throughout the universe He created so long ago.
Some think this might be embarassing - God recounting all our hidden sins; sins our wives and mothers don't know about and some sins we have even forgotten about. And in an earthly mindset it would be embarassing; in a heavenly mindset, it will be good to get it all out in the open and watch God forgive us with one spoken word.
That will truly be amazing.
We are living the life we have been given to live, but in this life to live there are choices and decisions to be made. The best choice you can ever make is the choice of Christ as your Savior; in reality, it will be the only decision in your life that will matter when you come to the day of your death and the date you have with God in the judgment.
We have a life to live, a death to die and a judgment to face.
While you are still able, choose wisely.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
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