Judgment

One

Courtroom Scene

Most Christians know that they will be judged by Christ immediately following their death. And when we hear that Christ will be our Judge, we probably imagine some kind of courtroom scene where Jesus is up on the tall bench, maybe He’s wearing a curly, white wig. And we’re really hoping we’ve got a good angel lawyer assigned to our case, because there’s an awful lot riding on the verdict. 

But, of course, our particular judgment won’t be like that. Because Christ’s court isn’t like a human court. And His judgment isn’t like human judgment. But there’s one thing right about the popular image, there’s an awful lot riding on the verdict.

Two

Where We Find Out Who We Are

In a human court, the person who is standing trial knows whether or not he’s guilty. The purpose of the trial is so the judge can find out the truth. But at our personal, particular judgment before the Lord, the opposite is the case. Christ already knows everything we’ve done, good and bad. He already knows whether or not we’re fit for heaven. The trial, the judgment, takes place so that we can find out. 

This trial, too, doesn’t just look at one thing we’ve done; it looks at everything. We’ll be given a full review of our life: of every decision we’ve ever made. And, most fundamentally, we’ll see what the cumulative effect of those actions on our character has been. In other words, we won’t just see what we’ve done. We’ll see what we’ve become. What we’ve made ourselves. Forever.

Three

How We Will Respond to God

Our whole lives, we’ve been responding to God’s initiative. And eventually, our response to God becomes definitive. We reach the point where we either respond rightly towards God or wrongly. And if we have trained ourselves to respond wrongly to God’s prompting, to God’s generosity, then we will continue to respond wrongly to God’s prompting at that final judgment.

If you’ve spent your life building up a habit of ingratitude to God, then when you review your personal history before Christ’s judgment seat, and He shows you all the countless gifts and graces He gave you throughout the course of your life, it won’t matter. You’ll have destroyed your ability to say, “Thank you.”

And if you’ve spent your life refusing to repent of your sins, to apologize to others for having wronged them. If you refused to go to confession when you had the chance. If you’ve built up a stubborn refusal to repent, then when you review your personal history before Christ’s judgment seat, and He shows you all the indefensible acts of selfishness and cruelty and meanness, it won’t matter. You’ll have lost your ability to say, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Again, the final judgment will just clarify what we’ve made ourselves into. It will show us who we are by showing us how we’ve responded and still respond to God.

Four

The Trajectory You’re On

Imagine a man holding a gun. He has a short time to decide whether to aim it up or down. Then time’s up, the trigger is pulled, and the bullet follows the direction he chose, forever.

That’s human life. With every decision, we’re pointing ourselves either toward God or away from Him. And then death pulls the trigger, and we continue forever on the course we chose, either to follow the trajectory of love into heaven, or to follow the trajectory of selfishness into hell.

But here’s the main point: the particular judgment isn’t God condemning us to a particular fate: it’s simply Christ showing us the trajectory we’re on, the trajectory we’ve chosen for ourselves. After Christ pronounces His judgment, we just continue on the course we were already on. He doesn’t have to pull us up into heaven or cast us down into hell. We just follow the course we’ve been on. The course we decided we wanted.

The question isn’t what will Christ the Judge decide? The question is: What course are we choosing for ourselves right now? What direction are we pointing the gun in? 

Five

Preparing for the Judgment

So, how do we prepare to stand before Christ, the Judge? Be the person today you hope to be at your death. By practicing now, the things we want to be able to say to Him on the day of our death.

If you want to be able to say to Him, “I’m sorry.” Then practice saying “I’m sorry,” now. In prayer, in the confessional, to your friends and family. If you want to be able to say to Him, “Thank you,” then practice saying “Thank you,” now. In prayer, when you receive the Eucharist, and at all times. If you want to be able to say, “I love you,” then practice saying “I love you,” now. And practice showing Christ that we love Him, by spending time with Him, and by being generous to the people He’s put in your life.

Then, when you review your life with Him at your particular judgment, you will be able to rejoice in the life you lived and the eternal trajectory you are on with Him.

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Practice now the things you want to say to God at your particular judgment: showing your gratitude to others, apologizing quickly, and showing others that you love them through your actions.

• Consistent confession is one of the best ways to prepare for your particular judgment.