What Have You Done With the Life I Gave You?

Several people who have died, but who were sent back to earth to complete their mission, report that when they met Jesus, His question for them was "What have you done with the life I gave you?  People almost always say their whole life flashed before them.  What will yours look like, standing before Jesus who loves you and knows you?

It is time to reflect, repent, and choose to let this eternal truth be the motivating drive in our life.  Our life will be evaluated, honestly and completely by God.  So consider the judgments of God.

There essentially are two books, which suggest two judgments, the Lamb's Book of Life and the Book of knowledge, that records all that everyone has ever done.   The first judgment is whether or not your name is in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:12).  Your name is written in this Book when you acknowledge that Jesus died and rose from the dead to pay for your sins and save you.  Your life for all eternity is decided by this choice.  Choose Life!

The second is the Bema or Great White Throne judgment, a term taken from the Greek for the judge that gave awards after an Olympic event.  In Revelation 22:12 the Word declares "Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with Me, to give every man according to his work."  Likewise in Matthew 25, Jesus, as the master who comes back,  will declare "Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your Lord. '

This rewards judgment is not to establish whether we get to spend forever with God, but rather to establish the role we get to have in the kingdom of God forever.  God knows and is vitally concerned about every thought, word, and choice we make.  Did Jesus not say that giving a child a glass of water would not lose its reward?

There are positive and negative aspects to this ultimate exposure before God.  Several places in Scripture confirm this, for example, Jesus is recorded in Matthew 12:36, "But I say to you that for every idle word men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Also in Romans 2:6 it speaks of the righteous judgment of God, who 'will render to each one according to his deeds" and in 2:16 "in that day when God will judge the secrets of men."  Even David, in his instruction to Solomon, declared that the Lord knows and understands every action, thought, and intent of the heart,

Someday, you and I will stand before God who knows everything about us.  He desires to bring His rewards.  Yet, He must expose everything dark to the light so it can become light.  Ask the Holy Spirit to expose your heart, then acknowledge your wrong choices or sin, and let Him not only forgive, but also cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)  What a awesome God who not only warms us but also provides the means to be right before Him!

Today, aware of how awesome God is and how true this Word is, I try to make my thoughts, choices, and actions count.  How will the Lord respond to what  you are thinking now, what big and little choices you make today, and what sentiments you dwell on in your heart?  Psalm 19 says it best, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord."