To Encourage You

Romans 2:16 “God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

Revelation 19:12 “His eyes are like a flame of fire.”

So how long do you expect to live?  I suspect your age may influence your answer to this question.  It seems the younger one is, the more likely they are to believe they will live forever – or at least for a very long time.  Conversely, if you are anything like me, I’ve found that as I get older, the obituaries in my local paper tend to capture more and more of my attention.  And I always look at the age of the person who died.  It’s hard not to think about my own age when I do this. 

Nevertheless, few people, perhaps with the exception of those who are gravely ill or in a foxhole in the middle of a war, think they will die in the near future.   And it is so strange that even though we are well aware that everyone will eventually die, we are often so surprised when someone actually does.  And sooner or later, that person will, most certainly, be you and me. 

So, given this fact, and given that unless you are suicidal, you have absolutely no control over when that day comes, are you ready to die?  The Bible tells us over and over again that there is a judgment day coming for each and every one of us.  It says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  And the verses above tell us that it will be the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the One with eyes like a flame of fire, Who will be the judge. 

So are you ready to face Him?  Are you ready to stand in front of the One who can see your heart just as well as he can see your face, and explain why you should not be condemned to hell for all eternity?  What would you tell Him if, for example, that time comes today or tomorrow – for it very well could?  What will you tell the One Who has told us “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3)? What will you say to Him, Who has told us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18)?  Will you say that you just didn’t know?  Please be aware, that that answer will not suffice, for He knows everything about you, including the fact that you just read His words that have warned you of what is to come and graciously offered you salvation in the face of it.