We know that one day we will stand before God, with Jesus, and we will be accountable to God for our choices. The Day of Judgment is a reality in Scripture, but we don’t know much about that moment beyond the fact that it will occur. For those who have placed their faith in Christ, we can know with confidence that our sins will be known by God but forgiven because of our faith in the sacrificial gift of God’s Son on the cross.
Jesus was teaching his disciples that they would need to share the message of the new covenant, the message of salvation in Christ, with others. He spoke some amazing words to his disciples that still apply to his disciples today. Jesus said, “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.” Jesus will stand with us on the Day of Judgment and tell God, and all those angels, “This one knows me, and this one has helped others know me as well.”
That moment in heaven is beyond our ability to comprehend, but it is one we will experience. We see through the glass “dimly” now, but, at that time, we will see our God face-to-face. We will stand with Jesus, so grateful for every time we acknowledged our faith in Christ and spoke of his redeeming work in our lives. We will meet those people who were impacted by our words and actions, seeds of faith that eventually took root. We will hear Jesus say, “We know you, and you belong with us.”
There are rewards on earth for sharing our faith with others. Joy is helping people pray to receive Jesus as their Lord. It is the greatest joy we can have to help people understand they have received the promise of eternal life in heaven and can live with that assurance all of their days on earth.
But nothing on earth will compare with the joy we will feel when we stand before God as the brother or sister of Christ and hear our Lord acknowledge us to the Father saying, “This one acknowledged me to others and did the work of a disciple.” Imagine hearing the God of the universe say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Wisdom is joyfully sharing Christ with others. Evangelism is our high calling now and one day will be our great reward.
