There will be a reckoning of all things. That’s for certain.
It’s Saturday so when I can I do my longer bike ride. Today I did. More time to think and pray and listen and tease out the meaning of God’s truth.
What starts at my desk in my DAWG often continues while I ride. Today it did -the entire time.
Here was my focus- I’ve memorized these verses and I had verse 14 in the window of my quarterback forearm holder:
Ecclesiastes 12:11-14
New American Standard Bible
11 “The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
God’s words speak of realities either present, or to come. Realities, not fantasies.
Chew over these words in your mind:
Goads— pointed sticks shepherds use to push their goats or sheep in the direction they need to go.
Masters-— how easy it is to read the wisdom of Proverbs or Ecclesiastes or some other Bible Book and then move on. To master wisdom is to give unusual attention and time to focus on it so you’re not a novice, a tenderfoot, a neophyte, but someone well versed in that topic. A Master. How many of us are masters of God’s wisdom? This convicted me a good bit.
Well driven nails—that’s graphic. What does that mean in context? What does it say to you? Is that something you aspire to be, a well-driven nail?
But verse 14 was what the Spirit of God kept me riveted on for an hour while pounding the pedals.
“God will bring every act to judgment…”
History is HIStory. God’s story. History had a beginning, has a long unfolding, and will have an abrupt end.
God is the Lawgiver and judge of the universe who delegates the final reckoning to Jesus. See Matthew 28:18-20 about who has ultimate authority now. Then cruise over to Revelation 19:11-21 and see what Equestrian will be the final arbiter. The imagery in this Revelation passage is meant to make us break out in a cold sweat.
Words speak of realities, not fantasies so we can take it to the bank that EVERY act will come before the scrutinizing eyes of the Triune God who is Holy and He will judge every act, He will weigh and evaluate every act, to see how they, our acts, measure up to His infinitely Holy standard. Of course, God can do this in a nano-second.
“everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Everything.
Everything which is hidden.
Whether it is good or evil.
All will be scrutinized by God.
There will be a final reckoning of all things when HIStory comes to an end as we see it playing out before us right now.
There are no secrets really. A “secret” is a human idea not a God reality; it’s something only you or a guarded few think you’re the only ones who know. But since God is large and in charge and all-knowing, no secrets really exist.
Have you ever let that reality sink in? Have I?
The Christ trusting man, the godly man, came to Christ because of these realities and recognizes these realities daily and confesses and repents of his sins quickly and trusts in Jesus for that cleansing daily, because he knows of this final reckoning (I John 1:9). We keep short accounts with the Lord; we keep nothing hidden from Him. Repentance and Confession leads to God treating sins like they didn’t exist anymore. Which they don’t. Blood is thick and Jesus’ blood the thickest. Once His blood covers our sins you can’t see them. Ok, I hear you, the consequences of our sin do stick with us sometimes- even for a long time- but not the guilt. The sins and guilt were covered by the blood of Jesus and are now invisible to God.
I get ticked a lot when I junk food my mind with too much news; it seems that lies and injustice are more prevalent than ever in my life. There are tons of people who are gaming God; they will not beat the Master. It’s HIStory after all.
“Whether it is good or evil.”
This infuses confidence into my masculine soul. By the end of my ride, I had shaken off much of the mental fatigue of the week, the cynicism that was eroding my love of people. The leakage of my warrior-desire to make a city-wide impact by being faithful with the Gospel seemed to have stemmed. I was almost ready to spend time with people again. I still need church on Sunday to fuel up.
Realities, not fantasies.
There will be a final reckoning. The Holy judge of the universe will give the final audit of every life. No detail will be missed.
Retributive justice will be levied for the unrepentant.
Rewards will be apportioned for God’s people that Christ made righteous.
There are still so many more people who need to know about Jesus. “The fields are white to harvest.” The majority of people may not want to hear what we Christians have to say, but some people are just dying to hear the Gospel…it’s their deepest longing.
Realities, not fantasies.
I’m in. For the very long haul. Because of God’s love and grace in Jesus.
Pete Alwinson
