
Take a moment to imagine something. Imagine that one hour from now by some crazy accident, your life as you know it comes to an end. Perhaps it was the bus, racing past. You had stood a little too close to the road. It happened so suddenly that you felt little pain. Everything turns to darkness. All is darkness for a few moments. All is quiet. Suddenly something happens that you never expected. Your eyes are blinded by an astonishing brightness, right in front of you. Without being able to see, you feel as if you are in the center of a great space, like a gigantic stadium. And the lights have just been turned on- pointing at you. As you turn away from the Source of piercing light, you notice that encircling you is a vast crowd of uncountable numbers, many of whose faces you can clearly see. Some of them you immediately recognize. Many of them have the look of terror as they look at you and then at the Source of Light in front of you. Your heart doubles its pace as you slowly turn back to look again at the Source of light.
With a jolt of fear, you realize that the Source of Light is a Person, radiating light and power like the sun- piercing all the darkness by His splendor. And you are nearest to Him, feeling the pulsating energy flow like electricity through you. Your face and body tingles as it reflects the white hot glory in front of you. Like a splash of ice-cold water on your burning face, you suddenly know that this is God. Here, in front of you, is the One who has always existed. Every doubt you ever had vanishes in that moment and all things become as clear as day. Just as you realize this, something else happens.
In an instant, your entire life passes before you. Yet every detail is as plain as day, agonizingly slow and relived. Every moment, every thought, every word you ever spoke, every single thing you have ever done flows past you, utterly crisp and clear. In that one moment, you see yourself exactly as God sees you. You see the good, but only for a moment. Because in that public place, with all the universe watching and the eyes of the living God gazing on, every thought of anger, of lust, of selfishness, of pride, of greed, every word of slander, every lie you have told brings unutterable unforgiving shame to you. Each selfish thing you have done or thought or said feels like a fresh blow to your body. As each one passes before you, unforgotten and visible for all to see, you feel like it would have been better not to have ever existed than to have to pass through this wretched moment. All the illusions you invented your whole life in thinking you were actually a good person vanish in smoke right at that moment.
And then, suddenly, silence. All is quiet. In the terrifying silence, in tears, you cannot even bear to look up at His face. But like the sound of a thousand train horns, His voice, deeper than the oceans, breaks the silence as he calls you by name. "I have given you one short life to live. And in this life, you doubted Me. You disobeyed Me, dishonored Me, and distrusted Me. You were self-seeking. You rejected the Truth. You followed evil. You decided your own eternal destiny the day you chose your own will over mine. What do you say in your defence?"
What words will you say to the living God at that moment? What can you possibly say? Take a moment to think about it. When all the masks you have been wearing have fallen away, and God’s piercing gaze reveals you as you really are, what will you say to Him in your defence? As surely as the sun will rise, so that day will come. And when it comes, it will be too late for you.
Please take courage today that there IS a Way in which you may stand before the living God, on that final Day, unashamed. The secret is in something He, Himself, has done in giving us a brand new life. He has provided a way by which all our wretched past, present, and future can be forever erased. Everything now revolves around this Man named Jesus. If you would like to know more about who Jesus is or about what He has done, click here.
To find out more about this new life, click here.