A Day of Relief, A Day of Reckoning

Have you ever witnessed a sudden, explosive violent act that shocked you? The first one I recall came shortly after we moved to a new town when I was in sixth grade. I had seen people do mean things before, but they fit the context. You know, kids argue, then wrestle, then someone gets punched. And no one is shocked.

But this event I remember like it happened in slow motion. It was recess, and I was talking to another kid on the playground. I didn’t know him that well, but then again, I was the new kid. I didn’t know anyone that well. His name was Mickey, and Mickey was telling me that he had a broken toe. I looked down at his Converse tennis shoes, and there was no indication that he had a broken toe. It was just another foot in a shoe.

{sidebar id=1}Along came another kid, a little bigger than me and Mickey. He said something like, “So you have a broken toe? Which foot?”

We all looked down as Mickey pointed to the shoe that concealed his injury. As I was looking at the shoe, suddenly the other kid, as hard as he could, stomped on it. I was completely shocked.

Mickey howled in pain, which really didn’t draw much attention on a playground jammed with howling kids. The bigger boy ran off, and Mickey was not about to tell on him. The last thing I remember is looking down at Mickey’s shoe as the blood began soaking through the canvas.

As far as I know, he never told on the other kid. So does that mean the other kid got away with it?

No. The answer is “no.” It is my belief that, basically, no one gets away with anything.*

As the years went by, that other kid had many problems, and eventually ended up in prison. No, he may not have gotten in trouble for crushing poor Mickey’s toe, but listen to this – his punishment was simply stored up for later when it would be served back… with interest.

When you are young, you haven’t lived long enough to see the cycles of sowing and reaping. It’s easy to think that people get away with things. But the longer you live, the more of these cycles you see, and the more you believe in the law of sowing and reaping.

However, some cycles don’t seem to ever come around. Some people seem to sow a lot of either good or bad seed, yet never reap what they have sown. Don’t be fooled. Like it says in Galatians 6:7, “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

Second Thessalonians 1:6 says, “God is just.” But I must say that his timetable of justice can be very different from ours. Sometimes that cycle of sowing and reaping sweeps on past the end of our life on earth.

Back to that passage in Second Thessalonians. It says, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled…”

Okaaay…but when?

It goes on to say, “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord…on the day he comes to be glorified…”

See, it is talking about a specific day in the future. On that day the Lord will pay back trouble to some and give relief to others. Paul wrote this to the Christians in Thessalonica who were being persecuted for their faith in Christ. He told them to persevere and stay strong. He told them that the Lord would bring relief.

Now here we are, two thousand years later, and Christians are still waiting for that day, the day when “the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire.”

Logically, this thought should not bring any hope. It hasn’t happened yet, so what evidence is there that it will ever happen?

But you know what? For some reason, I believe it. Something in my heart shouts, “It is true!” I know that the day is coming when Jesus will be revealed from heaven in that blazing fire.

That day will be a day of relief, and a day of reckoning. It will be a day of reckoning for those who have disobeyed the Lord. But thank God, it will be a day of incredible relief for all of us who have believed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Comments?

E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.

* Of course, this is a general statement. As our sins are forgiven by the Lord, due to the price Jesus paid on the cross, then we do, in a sense, get away with them. We don’t receive the full punishment we deserve. But the principle of sowing and reaping still holds true, and though not as great, we still reap what we sow.

This article originally published on March 24, 2008.

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