Preparing

"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Whoa! That gives one pause ... sounds like all kinds of serious. Why is he saying this? Mainly because we're looking ahead to what we can't see. To when dying gets swallowed up by life. Right now God's preparing us for that yet unseen moment. Walking by faith not by sight. And as we walk by faith we aim to please God. We aspire to that. We strive eagerly to that. To live pleasing to God. So in that yet unseen moment, we shall appear before Christ's judgment seat. Before Jesus, whose blood covered the mercy seat. And we shall receive our due. Our due for what we did in this world while God was preparing us for the next. Whether we did good or did evil. Good news: God has given us the Spirit, the earnest, the first installment of (unseen) life yet to come.

We meet today with a brother or sister in a sense of sobriety moderated by joy. Our hearts' desire draws us to please the God who has loved us so dearly. And, together, we give thanks.