According to your faith, so be it unto you

    Turning to Romans 14:10 we hear Paul as he tells us that we all shall one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give account of ourselves to God. Turning to Acts 17:31 we are told by Paul that a day has been appointed in which the world will be judged.  Listen as John tells us that the day will come when the dead, small and great will stand before God and be judged by the things written in the books that will be opened (Rev. 20:12). The writer of Hebrews sums all this up when he tells us that it is appointed to man once to die and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The only uncertainty concerning our death centers around when it will happen, not if it will happen. Truly, there is a great day coming and in that day we will stand face to face with our Lord. What an awesome day that will be.

          Face to face, what will it be?  When the brittle thread of life is broken and this old physical body lies in the silent city of the dead, there will be no coming back to take care of things forgotten or neglected; no coming back to speak words of love and encouragement to friends or loved ones; no coming back to seek forgiveness and pardon; no coming back to make preparation to die. Insofar as death is concerned, all that is to be done must be done before we take that last feeble step. If we have tied our lives to a strong, abiding faith in God, if our faith is one that can truly say, ‘I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12); if our faith is one that can shout to all the world, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21); if our faith is one that allows us with conviction to proclaim, ‘All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28), then life will truly be worth living under any and all circumstances because one day the greatest victory imaginable will be ours (1 Cor. 15:57).

          For all who are willing to cast aside personal prejudices and pride (Proverbs 16:18), willing to forsake traditions and commandments of men (Matthew 15:9) and obey God in all things (Acts 5:29), there will be a reward that is beyond words of human description (1 Cor. 2:9, Rev. 21:1-4). If we follow God’s plan and tie our purpose to his purpose, then the thought of death and judgment will not be a fearful thought.

          Suppose for a moment that when you stand face to face with the Lord, He should say to you as He once said to two blind men, “According to your faith, so be it unto you” (Matt. 9:28-29). If you were to take that last feeble step at this moment, based on your faith in him, where would you spend your eternity?

Charles Hicks