Living Ready For The Judgment

What type of lives would we live if we knew when they would end? Some might go mountain climbing and bull riding. Others might make it their mission to give all the love and forgiveness they have been denying. However, at the very least, most would be tempted to live lives of absolute wickedness. If we had a guaranteed time of judgment, many would seek to squeeze in all the sins they possibly could and then try to ask for forgiveness afterward. How do I know? People try to do this very thing without having a guaranteed time of judgment.

Many people want to live the life they desire, and when it seems to all be ending, give their lives to the Lord. Some make this later decision out of a sincere acknowledgment of their sins - maybe this had been their plan for years, and then they finally realized the folly of it. Others, however, I think are nothing more than fake followers in their later years. 2 Corinthians 7:10 reminds us, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” If we plan to “live now and repent later,” what sort of repentance is that? Will we be truly forgiven of such a heart? The only way we repent unto salvation is by truly being grieved by our sins against God.

The struggle of life is keeping our mortality in view. We often live as if we are immortals, but this isn’t the case, as we are reminded in Hebrews 9:27. We all will stand in judgment, and one of the sobering parts of this truth is that the time of judgment is unknown to us. This is why Paul reminds us to live carefully (Eph 5:15-16). This is why Moses asked God to teach him to number his days and make good use of his days (Ps 90:12). This is why in Peter’s final inspired letter, where he so heavily insists on making it so that the brethren he writes to finish the course, he encourages them unto holiness and diligence (2 Pet 3:11-14).

How should we live knowing that it all comes to an end? We all stand before Him, and we will not ever know when.