During preparation for jury duty, I watched a videotape that said: "All across the state, jury panels are being assembled to sit in judgment of others, just as one day people may assemble to sit in judgment of us."

Being judged by a jury of my peers is possible, but standing before Almighty God is certain. Our works will be evaluated and our reward determined by the Lord.

All of us will be morally and spiritually audited. The Lord will review every entry in the ledger of our lives. Not only what we did on earth but also the reasons why we did it will be known and judged.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the assurance that when we die we will be "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). With that in mind, Paul wrote, "We make it our aim . . . to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body . . . whether good or bad" (vv.9-10).

Instead of cringing with fear, we can live with joy as we seek to please God and look forward to our heavenly reward. Let's strive to make sure our actions and motives will be found worthy, not worthless, on the day we stand before God.  — David C. McCasland