“Before the judgment seat of Christ”
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. —2 Corinthians 5:10
Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
For the next few days we would like to meditate on the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Many speculations and prophetic pronouncements have been made about when that will take place, and many Christians disagree on this very point. In our Scripture passage, nothing is said about the exact time of Christ’s return, but we are told that we will all have to appear before Christ’s judgment seat one day. This will either happen when He returns from heaven, or on the day of our death. The question needs to be asked: Are we ready for that day?
The Apostle Paul was; he even desired to be with the Lord (vv.1-8). Paul was greatly grieved with the fact that he sinned every day; he had a real understanding of himself. When he considered the perfections of heaven, his soul sighed and longed to be there. Reflecting upon the joys of heaven gave him strength to continue on. Meditating upon the Lord gave him so much joy that he desired to live a perfect life (v.9).
The great day is going to come when the Book of Life will be opened, and all our sins will be revealed. What will happen to you then? Will you cry out: “mountains, fall upon me; hills, cover me?” Will you try to run away from this throne? That will not be possible. But the Lord can show us our life’s story in this Book and simply close it again because one word is written on those pages in blood: FORGIVEN! That is what the Lord still offers us today, namely, forgiveness for all our sins. Therefore flee to the Saviour before He becomes your Judge.
What does the second coming of the Lord mean to you?