“When You Have To Step Up To The Podium…”

I often have an image of when Jesus returns. The Bible states that after we die, we will each face Judgment Day. This is referred to several times:

Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV): “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV): “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Romans 14:10 (NKJV): “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”

Matthew 12:36 (NKJV): “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”

Psalm 9:7 (NKJV): “But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.”

I imagine each of our individual names being called and we each having to walk up to the proverbial “podium.” The Lord will open up the Book of Life. We will have to give an account for our time here on Earth.

God is not going to ask you about:

• Your AWARDS (Oscar-Grammy-Tony-Olympic Medals; NBA Championships);
• Your Following of Beyonce, Justin Bieber, or Taylor Swift;
• Your college graduation with a Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate degree;
• Your career successes, promotions, or raises;
• How many hit albums that you made;
• How much material wealth you have acquired.

I often hear people saying things like:

“As I lie here on the beach, I see a homeless person. This makes me reflect why our church doesn’t do more for the homeless.”

GOD is going to ask: “How many homeless people did YOU feed?”

Some of us will render excuses such as:

“Lord, I know you told me to refrain from sexual immorality, BUT, I practiced Safe Sex, and I did go to worship you every Sunday.”

Unfortunately, BUT is unacceptable. Either we will be obedient or we won’t. Both have consequences…one favorable, one not so.

Many of us will cry and say things like:

“But Lord, didn’t you see what Sally Jane did to me?”

I anticipate the Lord’s response being: “Yes…I did. I will deal with Sally Jane when she steps up to the podium. I am dealing with you right now. I want to know how you handled how Sally Jane treated you.”

Just as he gave The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 (NKJV), He has given us all special gifts and talents to be used to glorify Him. If we use them, we will be rewarded. If not, He will not be pleased...

Erma Bombeck said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”

The time has come for us to stop worry about what everyone else is saying, doing, or not doing and focus on what we should be saying & doing. We need to ensure that our own “call and election is sure.” We are still given the charge to help bring others to Christ. However, how we live our lives “preaches a sermon” to people every day.

Are you ready to “step up to the podium?”