IMAGINE IT!
Kathy Bernard - Publisher



”The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil
and the good.” – Proverbs 15:3

 

Can you imagine what it will be like to someday stand in the presence of God? Stripped bare of finery…gold, diamonds, fancy homes and all the trappings of earth? To see Him in all His glory looking at me, looking at you, seeing and knowing all our sins, looking at us as we really are, without artifice? Our souls naked and exposed to God in His perfection. The stern overseer of my life Who gave the laws and expected obedience. What will it be like to see Jesus, the Son, Who shed His blood, Who took all our sins on His shoulders in order to pay for our priceless salvation? And yet, He gave it to us for free. No charge.

Imagine it.

What would we feel if we tossed that gift by the side of the road, and went our own way? Threw away God’s Ten Commandments and the laws He decreed without a thought. The regret would be overwhelming with sorrow in His Holy and perfect Presence, but then it would be too late for our names to be entered into His Book of Life. We would be doomed for eternity.

What will I feel when He looks into my soul, this One Who knows what I am about? Would He see the times I let myself use His name in vain? Tossing that precious Word in thoughtless discourse without a thought, or using His Son’s Name as a punctuation or swear word, without realizing we are violating the Second Commandment "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain".

Would He see the time some of us committed adultery, unmindful of the blemish placed on our eternal soul? Did we care enough to repent? Did we realize that He was the Third Person present in that room where we broke His Third Commandment, “"You shall not commit adultery"? Imagine His sorrow when He beheld that law being violated.

What did He see when we used the office stamps to mail our personal mail? In itself, it seems a trifling issue. Yet imagine God watching that broken seventh commandment, “You shall not steal”.

I can only imagine how the Lord shrinks from our sinful humanity. I can only pray that He will direct my mouth in what I say to others for I must be watchful not to hurt or destroy hope with an unthinking word. Jesus tells us in Mark 12:31 “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” And so, I must be mindful of destructive words that come forth from my mouth.

Most of us would never purposefully kill another human being except when we or our families are threatened by danger or our country is at war. But today we have something new that is becoming commonplace; “Free Choice or the right to choose. Catechism states: "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. ... no one can under any circumstance can claim for himself the right to directly destroy an innocent human being."

And so, the fifth Commandment “You shall not kill” is not an idle commandment. The eyes of God sees the mother who freely consents and submits to choice, along with the doctor, nurses and anyone who directly aids in that act of abortion. Those who have availed themselves or took part must seek forgiveness also. There are some unavoidable situations such as being unable to carry a child because of serious health issues and official Church teaching allows for medical procedures and treatments intended to protect or restore the mother's health if she would be in mortal danger without them, even when such procedures carry some risk of death to the fetus. Those of us who are healthy but want to “choose” to abort must remember that God in Heaven sees our “Free Choice” decision and one day we will stand face to face with God with the blood of that innocent child on our hands. If you made this choice and are mentally suffering for this action, get forgiveness as soon as possible. Through God's grace you will be forgiven. And with this forgiveness He will want you to move forward in faith in Him. The Church offers ministries of reconciliation, such as Project Rachel, for those who sincerely repent. Psalm 103:12 tells us “He removes our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

What about the remaining commandments and laws He gave us? Did we ignore them and go our own way? Hebrews 4:13 clearly states, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable."

Heed what Psalm 139:1-8 tells us: “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.”

Rev. Kenneth Baker, "S.J., in his article "Jesus Will Judge the Living and the Dead." in the FUNDAMENTALS OF CATHOLICISM Vol. 1 Chapter 28 (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1995) 85-87, states in part, “The judgment of God in this sense is the final act whereby He settles forever the destiny of the free creature — either to eternal punishment in hell or to eternal reward in heaven. The basis of God’s judgment is faith and good works or charity. Those who believe and live their faith accordingly will be saved; those who believe but do not love God and neighbor will be condemned; those who refuse to believe that Jesus is the Christ and those who, not having heard about Christ, refuse the grace of God that is given them (1 Tim 2:4), will also be lost….”

“ Like the steward in the Gospel who must give an accounting of his stewardship, we must give an accounting to God. The final scrutiny will center around our faith and our love — both of God and man. Jesus is our model for both. He has also left us a graphic description of the Last Judgment in Matthew (25:31-46)."

“The judgment of Christ will bring to light who has believed and lived the gospel and who has not. The Gospels make it clear that the believer has already been judged favorably and so has nothing whatever to fear from the particular or general judgment. The particular judgment will give confirmation to the individual that he or she is saved, while the general judgment will be a public manifestation of the power and glory of Christ….” For more information on Rev. Baker use this link: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0838.htm

Imagine the Second Coming of Christ when He will come back as He promised. He will return in glorious majesty, coming in joyous victory over death, amid great shouts of triumph, surrounded by legions of angels dressed in raiment of dazzling splendor. He will tenderly gather His throngs of the faithful to bring them home. Woe unto those who turned away in sin for He will make His righteous and terrible judgment, a judgment bound by the way that lives were led, measured by the stains of sin that mark the soul, stains that were not brought to Him for His cleansing blood of forgiveness.

What will He see when He looks at each of us stationed there before Him? What will He find? Will we try to hide our faces in sorrow for our deeds? Or will He find us worthy? All of us imperfect beings will stand there condemned before God with only one Person Who can testify that He paid the price for my sinful nature and that you and I accepted that payment. No person, dead or alive, can intervene and save me or you. Not one. If I have the rain of His blood upon my soul, Jesus Christ, that innocent lamb Who was led to the slaughter for my sake and yours, will say to our heavenly Father. “Father, this one belongs to Me".

Those who were unfaithful Christians or those who did not accept His gift of salvation will be cast aside from the incorruptible and the obedient to await His awesome judgment. There will be no bargaining, for when He comes, He will come like a roaring lion. He will say, …‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” Matthew 7:23

Are you prepared to welcome Him?

This time is our way station, our “dressing room”, a place where we can get ready to receive Him when He comes again. This human life is our only chance. He knows we can never be worthy because we were born into sin but we can try and this is all He asks. Because He loves us, He does not want any of us to perish. He waits with love to “clean us up” with His cleansing blood of forgiveness when we sin. With His love, we get a fresh start on our walk with Him. And one glorious day, that path will end in everlasting eternity where we will live in peace and joy. We will see all who have gone before us healthy and welcoming. What a glorious day that will be! No more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears, never growing old or feeble, for we will live perfect lives forever in the kingdom our Heavenly Father has prepared with loving care for you and for me.

Imagine it!