“For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14
God has a plan for your life. It is the same one He has for every precious life that He creates. That plan is to know Him, love Him, fear Him, and obey Him. When we follow His plan, we fulfill our purpose. This plan will obviously flesh out differently in each of our lives; but the purpose is still the same. We were created to glorify our Creator.
If you look around the world today, it is blatantly obvious that most people are off track. Why are so many people so deeply troubled? Why is there such discord, confusion, and hate? It is because so many people – who were created for one purpose – are trying to live for another purpose. Think about this practically. What if you tried to bake lasagna in your clothes dryer? What if you filled your car up with Jell-O instead of gasoline? Try mowing your lawn with fingernail clippers and see what happens.
No matter what else we do with our lives, if we miss knowing, loving, fearing, and obeying God, we will have missed our purpose. In Ecclesiastes 12:14 we see that we are going to be judged as to whether or not we followed God’s plan and fulfilled His purpose for our lives. Even our good deeds will be inspected.
Your life is just like money. You can spend it, waste it, or invest it. You can spend it on doing what you think it right and good; but if you don’t know God it means nothing. You can waste it by buying all you can, enjoying all you can; but without God it is a waste. Lastly, you can invest your life by fearing God and keeping His commandments. What you choose to do with your life is how you are going to be judged.
The good news for followers of Jesus Christ is that God’s judgment is not a threat. All of our sins have already been judged by our Heavenly Father; and through Jesus Christ He has declared us, “Not guilty.” We are not going to be judged for what we did wrong, but rather for what we did right. When we stand before God it is not to be rebuked, but to be rewarded for how the fear and obedience of God controlled our lives.
If you truly know God, through Jesus, your life will be marked by a healthy, holy fear of Him. You will have a deep, passionate love for Him, and a grateful, humble obedience of Him. Therefore, you should not dread God’s judgment, but instead look forward to it.
Dear Lord, I don't want to fear your judgment. Instead, I want to live a life that allows me look forward to it. Please give me the wisdom to live a life like that. In Jesus' name, amen.
Topics: Obedience
