One thing is for certain

… He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many… - Hebrews 9v26-28

There is not a lot in life about which we can be certain. It would be nice, but just about everything we face we face with uncertainty. Until Jesus comes back again one thing is for sure though – we are going to die.

A few years ago Jocelyn Elders was the Surgeon General of the United States. She made a comment one time, I think the topic was smoking, that was very profound. She said with great insight, ‘We all have to die sometime…’ She was mocked by many for the apparently trite way she dealt with the dangers of smoking, but in reality she had a point – we are all going to die.

What makes it worse is what follows in this passage, ‘after after this the judgement. That causes quite a dilemma. Death and judgement are not pleasing thoughts. Any one who is honest with himself would have to admit that he does not relish the thought of being judged by God.

But there is more to it than that. Jesus appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Because of the certainty of judgement Christ was offered up for the sins of many.

Death is coming. Judgement is coming. Thankfully Jesus has already provided a way out by sacrificing Himself to pay the penalty for sin. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus alone. Praise God for that gift. May 2009 be a year where we share that gift and offer to others so that they too may receive it and avoid the pending judgement.