In the book ‘Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther’, an incident is recorded when Martin was 21 years old. While walking towards Stotternheim, the sky became overcast, storm blew and a bolt of lightning flashed knocking him to the ground. “St. Anne, help me!” he cried. “I will become a monk”. Having grown up in a culture filled with fearful discourses on demons, angels, hell, heaven and judgement, he thought the lightning was a glimpse from God of the terror of Judgement day. Martin thought the best way to preserve his soul from the upcoming judgement was to become a monk.

Dictionaries define Judgement Day as the day whereby every human that ever lived will be raised after death to be judged on account of what he/she believed and what he/she did during their mortal existence, resulting in eternity spent in Heaven or Hell. Just as every mortal born must die, so is judgement sure to follow death. But our lives are so engulfed around the pursuit of our job, family, friends, hobbies, duties, money, etc, that we forget that these are all but temporary.

The journey of our flesh ends with death but the journey of our soul is immortal. When we stand before the judgement seat of God, we will not carry the tags of the money in our bank account, the position we held, the family we came from. But the truth of who I am will be revealed for all to see and God will pronounce His final judgement on me.

Think about it, dear friends! It’s not a joke we can laugh about, it’s a reality awaiting you and me. If your life were to end today, are you ready to stand to be judge by God? Perhaps you are living today because God’s grace is still giving you a chance to examine these things again.

“Every action of your life touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity”- Edwin Chapin.