“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12
For the masses who have been wondering what to get me for Christmas this year… I like books. No surprise. In fact that’s what I typically do on Christmas day… I find something to read. Kristen gets mad at me because I read instead of talking to her parents. But, its kind of a chicken/egg thing in terms of which comes first. She’d say no one talks to me because I’m reading. I’d say I read because no one talks to me. (Now that I think about it, her parents buy me books every Christmas. Hmm)
I’m not much for fiction. Kristen says I need to lighten up and sit down with a good story once in a while. But the last thing I think I need more of is drama. I deal with enough people every day in the midst of major life drama - why add make-believe drama to the mix?
The Book of Revelation captures the crescendo of the drama of the ages. And near the end, we read that God has books too. One is a book of deeds, the other is a book of names. The book of names is called the Book of Life - people aren’t in that book because of what they’ve done. They are in that book because they’ve accepted what Jesus has done for them (dying on the cross for our sins). The other book is a book of deeds - it contains names of people and what they have done good and bad.
If you are still thinking you’ve probably done enough good to get by with God, I’d point you to the good book that says even the greatest among us will still be found wanting. For those of you who are thinking you’ve really done some good things, I’d remind you that Jesus once told his followers to not focus on what they were doing. Rather he told them to rejoice that their “names are written in heaven.”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for being the Author of Life. Thank you for editing out my sinful past. As the chapter of 2007 comes to an end, my heart is filled with anticipation for what you have planned for me in 2008. Thank you that all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Loading ...
Wow, when I read this part of the prayer: “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be,” I just started crying. I have read that passage before, but today He just really touched me with that. Just the fact that He has ordained days for me, that He has me in His book, that Jesus edited the book to wipe out my sins. I also started thinking about how important today and each day is. If He ordained them for me, well, wow, each day is a gift from Him and how will I use that gift? This is an amazing passage to meditate on.