For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.    2 Corinthians 5:10 HCSB

Have you ever thought about what it will be like when the rapture happens? Or have you ever thought about what will happen to you when you die?

Paul is talking about this in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. In verse 1 Paul talks about how when our temporary, earthly body is destroyed we have an eternal building from God in the heavens. He talks about how burdensome it is to be in our temporary, earthly body. When we suffer here, we may think about how awesome heaven will be. We are told in Revelation that the streets will be made of gold so pure it will be clear. The walls will be made of precious gemstones and the gates made of a single pearl.

We also know from what the Bible tells us there is a place called hell. This place is referred to as the lake of fire. It is described as a place where there will be wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth.

It’s important that we all understand each of us will appear before God and give account of what we have done here on earth. We will answer for the good and the bad. I don’t know what that means to you, but for me I think about all the bad I have done. I think about thoughts I shouldn’t have had and I failed to take captive as we are told to do in 2 Corinthians 10:5. I think about the words I have said that I shouldn’t have said. We are told in Matthew 12:36 we will answer for every idle word spoken. And of course, there are plenty of sins committed hoping God would just look the other way. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

I find myself constantly needing to pray for forgiveness. I do this daily realizing that I have probably done things during the day unintentionally. I count on God’s word in 1 John 1:9 that tells us if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I also count on Psalm 103:12 that tells us he removes our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

None of us know when this earthly body will cease to work or be destroyed. None of us know when we will be called to our eternal life. But we should definitely know where we will be spending eternity. Jesus said in John 14:6 that is the only way to get to heaven. He said He is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Him.

If you haven’t given some serious consideration to where you will go when you die, I encourage you to do so. None of us are guaranteed anything here on earth. We know we will suffer here on earth. We know we have a heavenly home waiting for us. We know we have a Savior that can save us from our sins. But it’s up to us to accept Him or reject Him. What will you do?

The time to decide is now. We are all going to pay the price one day. We will pay the price for the bad we have done wrong or we will receive crowns for the good we have done. These are crowns we can lay at Jesus’ feet.

Please understand that doing good deeds doesn’t get us into heaven. Surrendering our lives to Christ is what gets us there. When we surrender to Christ, we naturally want to do good.

If you reject Christ, you have an eternal price to pay. I beg you to carefully consider this.

Have a great day!