Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelation 20-11-15
One of the most common “mistake” in evangelisation that many people make is to ask “do you want eternal life” or to say that “Jesus can give you eternal life”. I call this a “mistake” (quote-marks and all) is because for people who don’t know God and who find life meaningless, “eternal life” does not sound like a good idea. Many people dread their own lives, wake up miserable and live as if there’s no tomorrow. As it is, they can’t wait for their days to come to an end. We have made our lives here on earth such a torture we wouldn’t mind not having a forever.
Actually, the more sound question to ask is “do you want to spend your eternal life in happiness or in misery?” Because eternal life, in fact, will be a reality for all of us. Our bodies will break down, but our souls will remain. And I don't think the concept of eternal life is solely a Christian idea. Look around all religions and faith beliefs and we’ll see that many (if not all) have an idea of undying souls. They don’t just disappear, they go somewhere. Some souls find peace and others don’t. This is a fact that has made a few dollars for the likes of Russell Lee (of True Singapore Ghost Stories fame) and the many makers of horror films and TV series. We actually don’t get to decide if we want to have eternal life. We will get it. The only difference will be weather this eternal life will be in happiness (Jesus claims to give fullness of joy) or in misery – this is particularly true for those who buy into the devil’s lame attempts to convince us that there’s no eternal life: “live for today!”, “Enjoy today, for tomorrow you may die and lose the chance to enjoy!” Ultimately, we are lured into believing that there’s no consequence for neither goodness or evil at the end of the day. And since good is always less fun than evil, there’s no point in being good. The only problem with that is that if we discover that there is indeed eternal life, it will smack us right in the face.
If we, Christians, are to believe the Bible as truth, then we can believe enough that there is a greater glimpse into this eternal life. The “book of life” in verse 12 of today’s selection may or may not be literal, but what needs no interpretation is the fact that we will have to be held accountable for all our actions. We need to be prepared for that day. And it’s probably true that we’d be lost for words when the time comes for us to explain ourselves in front of the all mighty God. Knowing that this God is all-knowing and sees through all our excuses, how are we to even begin to explain? Perhaps it is with this sense of worry that we are not too hot about meeting God face-to-face.
But there is another perspective to this. Perhaps the Father may not even be looking for an explanation. Perhaps He wouldn’t care too much. The famous parable about the wasteful son hints at this: the son is truly repentant for all that he’s done and for the way he’s treated his father. He makes his way home scripting his lines. But his father comes to him and does not even want to hear his explanations. God is greater than that father.
Of course, this is not a theological take on the matter, but why would God care so much for us to explain ourselves? He already knows everything we’ve ever done, and He knows the true reasons for our doing so. He needs no explanation from us who have truly turned our hearts completely to Him! But from those who had refused to change and preferred to feign ignorance, it would make sense that God would demand an explanation: so that it becomes clear that He is not the one who condemns us, but in all those actions, we condemned ourselves.
Are we ready to face Jesus if we take our last breath today? Where have we offended God and His creation, and are we truly sorry for those offences? The good news for you and I is that you’re reading this because you still have a chance to repent. As I write, I have a chance to repent. What we will be doing on the day of judgment, anxiously hoping to find our names in the Book of life, God is already doing now. Right now, He’s hoping we put our names down, and commit to a life of good. He’s made His pleas, will we listen?
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