Prepare to Meet God - Damon J. Gray
Death & Taxes
“Nothing in this world can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”1 That’s a phrase we’ve likely all heard, and probably more than once. It’s humorous, to be sure, but is it true? Mel Gibson, portraying William Wallace in the movie Braveheart, said, “Every man dies, but not every man really lives.” Again, catchy and thought provoking, but is it true?
I submit to you that neither statement is true, because not everyone will taste death. Oh, most of us will, but not all. I can tell you one thing that is a certainty. Every one of us will meet God. Every one of us will bow our knee and confess the name of Jesus as Lord of all, King of the universe. Some of us will do it willingly and with joy. Others will do so in terror.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
– Isaiah 45:22-23, ESV
For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
– Romans 14:10b-12, ESV
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
– Luke 10:29, ESV
Those future encounters are a certainty, my friends. For some, they are encounters of fear and trembling. For others, they are moments to which we look forward with great anticipation. I have little doubt that I will encounter Jesus with significant trembling and awe, but I will certainly, willingly bow the knee and confess the name.
I will bow the knee. You will bow the knee. Madonna, Beyonce, Trump, Bill Gates . . . every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess.
Like a Good Boy Scout
Though the organization no longer exists, every good Boy Scout knows the motto, “Be Prepared.” Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, be prepared. In no aspect of life is that more true than our future meeting with God. Be prepared.
Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
– Amos 4:12, ESV
Oppressive Leadership
The statement from God, quoted above, is a threat, but not a threat to you or me. Rather it is a threat God made, through the prophet Amos, against Israel, and not even all Israel. The threat was made against what we might call the “heads of state,” those in positions of power and influence who boast loudly and live in lavish opulence while treading on the backs of those they oppress. It is to them that Yahweh says, “Prepare to meet your God.”
Are we to assume that, since this statement from God is constrained to such a specific context that God feels any differently toward oppressive magistrates and governing officials today? I think not. Oppression and abuse is oppression and abuse regardless of the context.
If God is going to call to account the abuses of oppressive leadership during the time of Amos, how will he not view similarly those in authority today who practice violence and unrighteousness at every level of law and government. Prepare to meet your God!
It’s a Good, Positive Call
A threat is almost always regarded negatively. But properly understood, a threat says, “I’m giving you the opportunity to amend your ways so I don’t have to knock your block off.” The entire point of “Prepare to meet your God” is “change your ways so that inevitable meeting can be positive rather than negative.”
Since, through ample biblical evidence and warnings, we know that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God,”2 the only sensible course of action is to receive that message with gratitude and make those alterations to our lives that are necessary to turn the impending negative encounter into a positive one. Thus, it is an act of deep love and compassion to advise someone, “Prepare to meet your God!”
I have to share this quote, because it says so well what I am struggling to say.
Since the prophet here attacks so severely the heads of the state, we are to consider that if a modern preacher were to do the same, it would be regarded as an insult and a calumny. But if a preacher out of a proper zeal should at times handle somewhat harshly acknowledged public offenders who can be reached in no other way, this is by no means to be deemed an unbecoming insult, for the same reproach would apply to the prophets, to our Lord Himself, and to his Apostles, all of whom often uttered severe language. When in any such case the rebuke aims only at the benefit of the persons concerned, it is not an impropriety or an outrage, but a work of love demanded by the preacher’s office, which is to censure the impenitent.
– Wartburg Bible, as cited in Schmoller, 1874/2008, p. 42
Who Can Stand?
The call “Prepare to meet your God” can rightly be spoken to every one of us, and like good Boy Scouts, we need to do what is necessary to “Be Prepared.” We know that the wicked will not stand in the judgment,3 so it would seem that the course of action for us to take is to be, or become righteous, right?
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
– Romans 3:10, 23, ESV
So none of us is immune to the call to be prepared. None of us can point to others and say, “They are the unrighteous, and I am not one of them.” Yes. Yes, I am.
The only possible way for me to come into God’s presence prepared is through Jesus Christ. If only the righteous can stand in judgment, and I am unrighteous, then I need to have someone who is righteous stand in my stead.
And because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
– 1 Corinthians 1:30, ESV
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
– 2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV-1978
In the end, there is nothing we can do to get righteous, to be righteous, or to become righteous. The only option we have is to throw our hands up in surrender and say, “I can’t do this! I give up!” and then trust in the one who is righteous to extend his righteousness to us. It’s a big decision to make, but it is the only decision that will prepare you to meet your God.
1. Early colonial statesman, Benjamin Franklin, is credited with popularizing this phrase, though it did not originate with him. The earliest known reference comes from Christopher Bullock (1716), in his play, The Cobler of Preston where he penned the line, “‘Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes.”
2. Romans 14:12
3. Psalm 1:5
