What Will Your Answer Be?

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/359q8j

Suspense. Drama. Everyone is curious. What will be the outcome? In today’s culture hardly anything is really left in suspense. With 24 hour news, the internet and other outlets, nothing remains a secret anymore. But imagine that there is a secret yet to be revealed. Imagine that you and I are sitting in a crowded courtroom and the jury has just been seated. The judge asks if a verdict has been reached and it has. The foreman rises to read the verdict. What will it be? Will he be guilty or not guilty?

In 1935, Tillit Teddlie stopped by a courtroom in Vernon, Texas, to witness the verdict being read in a murder trial. The sentence was death. Moved by the events of that day and knowing that each of us has a date before the judge of the universe, he wrote the words to the song, “What Will Your Answer Be?” Here is the first verse and chorus of that song.

Some day you’ll stand at the bar on high,

Some day your record you’ll see;

Some day you’ll answer the question of life,

What will your answer be?

What will it be? What will it be?

Where will you spend your eternity?

What will it be? O what will it be?

What will your answer be?

For the majority of us, we will never have to stand before a judge at any time in our lives. Courtrooms and verdicts are something we witness as outsiders, not participants.

But in our spiritual lives we will all have to face the final Day of Judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” And Paul says in Romans 14:12 that “each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Perhaps you have been interested in trials in recent years. The television coverage of some trials is quite extensive. Sometimes the verdicts do not match what we think the evidence portrays. Often one jury’s verdict is overturned by a higher court. Drama, suspense and curiosity all run high.

Think back with me to that courtroom scene as the verdict is about to be read. If you are the defendant, you are keenly interested in knowing the verdict. But regardless of what they say, you already know if you are guilty or not. The real question in your mind is if they have been able to prove your guilt. Maybe they did or maybe they had reasonable doubt. Therein lays the suspense for you.

But with our spiritual judgment there will be no suspense. On that great day we will all stand before our judge and the books of our lives will be opened up and we will give account of our actions. There will be no opportunities to make good on failed promises or to right wrongs done to others. All opportunities to affect our verdict were always within our control, but they had to be acted upon before our death.

Will you follow Jesus? Will you obey God? Will you lead a life as a faithful Christian? Will you keep the commandments and spread the news of salvation to others? These and many other questions could be asked over and over in our lives. What is our answer to these questions today? What will our answer be tomorrow and for the rest of our lives?

Earthly juries can sometimes render an incorrect verdict. They are flawed, human, and have to deal with limited evidence. But this is not so with God and Jesus. They know us intimately and know not only our actions but even our thoughts.

When we stand before them it will be too late to change our direction and our allegiance. So the time to prepare for that day is right now.

Please ask yourself these questions. Am I ready to face a verdict on my life right now? Will I accept and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ? Will I do these things without delay?

Well, friend, what will your answer be?

On Our Daily Walk today, may we be willing to settle the question of our eternal destination this very hour. May we continue to seek God and His righteousness and lean upon His word for how we should live. May we always stand ready to be judged righteous in His sight.

Our thought for the day: “It is not a question of who is right but what is right.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.