ThinkAloud | accountability

God knows what’s going on

I’m sure it is obvious to all of us that there are many uncertainties in life. Yet this common knowledge does not make the truth any less urgent. Those things that we view as most secure and stable can and often do vanish overnight. Apart from those factors that contribute to the quality of life, there is the uncertainty of life itself. While each of us feels we will live forever, we know this is not so. All around us are monuments to those who thought they were immortal.

Despite this potentially unsettling situation there are certainties we can be sure of. As Christians we rest in the knowledge that the Lord is in control of all things. This is His world, and He has not abandoned it. He is approachable. He is loving and caring. He is forgiving and He has standards that He expects us to live by. These standards are not impossible, except for the person who insists on “doing his/her own thing” and ignoring God’s guidance. This guidance is clearly revealed in the Bible through the Holy Spirit.

Deep in our hearts every one of us cries out for wrongs to be righted. We demand that people who have great power should be held accountable for the way in which they exercise that power. We are rightly upset when justice is not done, and when it is suspected that people in authority have misused their position of trust to further their own ends.

Within a few days the year will end, which is an appropriate time for us to remember that our Heavenly Father “keeps the accounts”. God knows what is going on. He is privy to every conversation. He knows every deal. He is aware of all motives and He knows both the short term and the long-term consequences of decisions. We should not be afraid of this truth. God is not a Supreme Court judge who, though wise and knowledgeable, is as fallible as any of us. No, God not only knows all, He is all and in all.

This means that His love is always for our good, and that we can never go wrong by being obedient to Him. It also means that we cannot run our lives as if we are accountable to no one but ourselves. His gentle but firm guidance restrains us and keep us from the folly of our ways, more than we will ever know.

God’s judgment and our accountability to Him are truths that should be embraced joyfully, and lived out each day with the eager anticipation of people who receive personal instructions from the One who knows all.

The Bible says clearly “It is destined that each person dies only once, and after that comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9: 27, NLB). This means that our Heavenly Father will assess our lives on earth. Tragically, the judgment will be more severe for those who heedlessly ignore God’s guidance in this life.

The judgment story in Matthew 25: 31 – 46 carries a number of important messages, one of which is about accountability. Those who in this life choose to live self-centeredly will therefore live eternally with the consequences of such a lifestyle. There is no place for them in the heaven that God has prepared. And yet for those who willingly accept our Heavenly  Father’s direction for daily living there is the gladdest welcome of all.

Writer: Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Ryan is a former Editor in Chief in Canada and the UK. In retirement he is a copy editor of theRubicon and the author of theRubicon series called Resurrected Writers.

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