Judgement

Judgement is God's way of assessing out lives and how successful we were at carrying out the commands of the Bible. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10) A lot of people say that the Bible is just a big book of rules and that it's impossible to follow. But if you think about it, it tells us a few things we can't do, and then the rest we are allowed to do! Wouldn't it be way more difficult if the Bible was a list of things we were allowed to do on earth, and whatever wasn't mentioned in there was off limits? God is so good to us. But still we fall short. Every day we fail to uphold His commands. So that is why we will be judged at the end of times. It is not the correct motivation to do good in fear of God's wrath during judgement, but I would be lying if I were to say that I haven't thought that way before. We should do good out of our love for God, not out of fear of punishment. But in Philippians Paul talks about those spreading the gospel, saying some do it out of the pureness of their hearts and some do it for selfish gains, but the most important thing above all is that God's wonders are being told. So fear of judgement isn't the best motivation, but it is motivation. Do you do good out of fear or out of love? Do you even think about judgment on a daily basis? It is vital to have a kingdom mindset and think about the eternal implications of our actions; if we don't, we will get caught in the quicksand of the monotonous society and our focus will be about acute, fleeting pleasures.

 In my quest through Psalms, yet again I am challenged to live a life that is focused on the Kingdom. We are on our best behavior when we are conscious of analysis. We know when we can get away with things and when we can't. How often do we do this? We choose the dark over the light because we are comfortable in the dark. We get what we want without anyone knowing. But the righteous man has nothing to hide! On the day of judgment, the righteous man arrives in the absence of quivering knees or elevated heart rate. David is a perfect example of this. He wasn't just ready for judgment, HE ASKED GOD TO JUDGE HIM. How bold! Psalm 82:8 "Arise, O God, and judge the earth." I have to honestly admit that I would not ask God to judge me, because I know how short I have fallen. What would I have to change in my life to start living a in a manner where I boldly ask to be under scrutiny? It all starts with the integrity of character. Take some time today to assess your life through the lens of the Scripture and see what needs to change so that we may boldly approach the throne (Hebrews 4:16) and have our Father say "WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT".