And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 (NIV)
This may come as a surprise to some of us, but we are not in ultimate control – God is. Seriously, who among us can make something out of nothing – speaking its existence into being? Who can take away all death and mourning or crying or pain? Eventually, we will all come to the conclusion that we are not in control but it is far better to know it sooner rather than later. It is certainly preferable to learn this in the classroom rather than on a field trip of our own choosing, if you get my drift, Amen? We get to choose how we live our lives but we do not get to choose the consequences. And there are always consequences to actions whether good or bad. It matters greatly what we do with this one life we have been given.
Scripture tells us in Psalm One that one is blessed if they choose not to walk in the counsel of the wicked nor stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of mockers; rather, their delight is in the Law of the Lord. They are those who will yield fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Victory and prosperity will follow them – not always as the world deems victorious or prosperous but as God does. And that’s what ultimately matters.
One fine day everything will be brought to light and all will be held accountable for how we have lived this one life that is ours to live. We will each stand individually before the Throne of God as fire tests the quality of each man’s work. How did we use the giftings we were given through the power of the Holy Spirit? We will all be called to account for what we did with what so He graciously gave us.
Sin teaches us to put ourselves at the center of everything. This pervasiveness of self-centeredness stands as the antithesis of Christianity. In all four Gospels Jesus tells us to deny self and take up our crosses following after Him Who died for us. It is not all about us – it has never been all about us. We were made for God and for His glory, alone. He does not share His rightful throne with another.
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:23-25 (NIV)