“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. … If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” –Revelation 20:12,15
One of my both equally fondest and hated memories of school is doing book reports. Every student in the history of time has had to do at least one book report in his educational career. As a person who went on to become an English major in college, growing up I always enjoyed writing. Early on, I discovered that my enjoyment of the homework assignments of book reports usually was directly proportional to how much I enjoyed the material that I just read.
It makes sense. People are much more effusive and eager to share about something they enjoyed, whether it’s a meal, movie, or yes, a book. Words just gush out, like an unstoppable geyser. They are eager to dissect and summarize and present critical thought, like a good book report does. On the other hand, writing about something you found dry and boring is just like breaking stones; it’s tedious, hard and slow. You just want to… get… it… done!
One of the things that greatly intrigues me is what the Bible calls “the Book of Life.” I did a cursory search for the phrase “Book of Life” on Biblegateway.com using the NIV translation, and like I expected, most of the references come from the book of Revelation which deals with the end times. There are two references outside of Revelation: one in Psalm and one in Philippians, but the bulk of what we know about the Book of Life comes from Revelation.
So, what is it? In Revelation 13:8, we see that it says it’s a book that belongs to Jesus. A few chapters later, we see that it’s a book that will be used in the coming judgment. Those who have their names written in it will be allowed to enter Heaven. Conversely, those who aren’t listed will be thrown into Hell with Satan. But that’s not all. It is also a book that has a record of things that we do here by which we will be judged for at that time.
Imagine yourself in the picture Revelation 20 paints. You’re surrounded by hundreds of people, strangers who you’ve never seen before and maybe some people you know. All of you are approaching the throne of God with earth and sky a distant memory. When you finally approach, knees weak and mouth dry, you hear pages turning and realize the Book of Life is turning to a specific chapter: YOUR chapter. A voice reads out what’s written in there. You hear many things you’re not proud of and immediately want to undo. Things that you’ve long forgotten. Things that you didn’t think or know that made a difference. It takes you back to the beginning and examines your life to the end, and in the process crafts a perfect, unbiased summary of your life with its failings and achievements on which you will be judged and rewarded.
Wow. Talk about a book report for the ages! After reading and meditating on these verses, it’s motivating me to do more, say more, serve more, and as much as I can, sin less because I don’t want to stand before the throne of God and hear things that I’m ashamed of, things that I should have done more of, things that make me want to sink into the ground below. I want a book report of my life that summarizes and outlines positive things and says that I was able to do as much as I was able to do with what all that I was given. I want it to be an enjoyable read for God.
What’s yours going to say?
-Matt
bookBook of Lifeend timesJesusjudgmentrecordreportRevelation
Your Book Report
January 14, 2010
Calvary
Comments Off on Your Book Report
Matt
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. … If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” –Revelation 20:12,15
One of my both equally fondest and hated memories of school is doing book reports. Every student in the history of time has had to do at least one book report in his educational career. As a person who went on to become an English major in college, growing up I always enjoyed writing. Early on, I discovered that my enjoyment of the homework assignments of book reports usually was directly proportional to how much I enjoyed the material that I just read.
It makes sense. People are much more effusive and eager to share about something they enjoyed, whether it’s a meal, movie, or yes, a book. Words just gush out, like an unstoppable geyser. They are eager to dissect and summarize and present critical thought, like a good book report does. On the other hand, writing about something you found dry and boring is just like breaking stones; it’s tedious, hard and slow. You just want to… get… it… done!
One of the things that greatly intrigues me is what the Bible calls “the Book of Life.” I did a cursory search for the phrase “Book of Life” on Biblegateway.com using the NIV translation, and like I expected, most of the references come from the book of Revelation which deals with the end times. There are two references outside of Revelation: one in Psalm and one in Philippians, but the bulk of what we know about the Book of Life comes from Revelation.
So, what is it? In Revelation 13:8, we see that it says it’s a book that belongs to Jesus. A few chapters later, we see that it’s a book that will be used in the coming judgment. Those who have their names written in it will be allowed to enter Heaven. Conversely, those who aren’t listed will be thrown into Hell with Satan. But that’s not all. It is also a book that has a record of things that we do here by which we will be judged for at that time.
Imagine yourself in the picture Revelation 20 paints. You’re surrounded by hundreds of people, strangers who you’ve never seen before and maybe some people you know. All of you are approaching the throne of God with earth and sky a distant memory. When you finally approach, knees weak and mouth dry, you hear pages turning and realize the Book of Life is turning to a specific chapter: YOUR chapter. A voice reads out what’s written in there. You hear many things you’re not proud of and immediately want to undo. Things that you’ve long forgotten. Things that you didn’t think or know that made a difference. It takes you back to the beginning and examines your life to the end, and in the process crafts a perfect, unbiased summary of your life with its failings and achievements on which you will be judged and rewarded.
Wow. Talk about a book report for the ages! After reading and meditating on these verses, it’s motivating me to do more, say more, serve more, and as much as I can, sin less because I don’t want to stand before the throne of God and hear things that I’m ashamed of, things that I should have done more of, things that make me want to sink into the ground below. I want a book report of my life that summarizes and outlines positive things and says that I was able to do as much as I was able to do with what all that I was given. I want it to be an enjoyable read for God.
What’s yours going to say?
-Matt
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