December 4, 2015

¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work (NIV; 1 Corinthians 3:11-14).

            We contemporary Christians don’t like to think about judgment. I don’t know how it happened, but somehow we have sidelined it almost completely. Somehow we’ve come to the conclusion that because our sins are forgiven how we live doesn’t matter.

            That’s not what I read in the New Testament. What I read in the New Testament tells me that I ought to pursue righteousness, goodness, and holiness—not because I want to earn my salvation but because that’s what God has called me to do. And I read that my deeds will follow me into everlasting life (cf. Revelation 14:13). I take that to mean that in some mysterious way the life I live in this age is the material from which God will shape my life in the age to come. At the final judgment those things will be read out.

            Now, if we were to pursue good works solely with the idea that we would secure greater glory on the last day, that would undermine the very basis of good works. So, we don’t labor because we desire reward; we labor because God called us to it. Still, it pays to bear this end in mind, too, and to consider that our lives in this age do indeed matter.