Preacher Feature: Our most important appointment is the one yet to come

If you are anything like me you keep some sort of appointment book or calendar. I'm not as sophisticated as most these days - I don't use my phone or iPad as an electronic calendar reference. I have an old-fashioned book where I write down where I am supposed to be and when I am supposed to be there.

As my hair gets grayer, my memory gets shorter. When I accept a speaking engagement, for example, I not only write down where I am supposed to be, but I also write down the time of the service so as to not be late. When I was younger, I could almost tell a person what time a morning worship service began at nearly all of our local churches. Today, I won't trust my memory for those times in fear that I will walk into a church late and find the deacons unimpressed by my tardiness.

We record events on our calendars because they are important to us. We have all kinds of appointments. Like my car, I find as I get more miles on me, I seem to have more appointments at the doctor for required maintenance! Even my dog has notations on my calendar for such things as vet and beauty shop visits. Yes, my dog gets her nails done on a regular basis. She is quite spoiled!

With all of the appointments we have, however, our most important appointment is yet to come. We can't put it on our calendar because we are not sure when it is going to take place. If we are smart, we will spend our entire lives preparing for this event. II Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

We will stand before the One who saved us. We will stand before the One who died on the Cross of Calvary so that our sins are forgiven. We will stand before the One who we have had a relationship with since the very minute we said the sinner's prayer. What an awesome appointment that will be!

This upcoming appointment will be with the One who knows all about us. We won't be able to bluff our way through this meeting. We won't be able to hide anything from Him. He knows everything that occupies our mind. He knows what we watch on television, how we conduct ourselves at home or work, how dedicated we are to His cause, and He knows our heart.

Finally, we will stand before the One who has commissioned us into His service. Once saved, our job is not to sit on the end of the bench and wait for the appointment. Instead, we are to be working as a part of God's army. We are to be a light in an otherwise dark world. We are to have an impact on leading others into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is during this final appointment we will have to give an accounting of the life that God has allowed us to live.

Each time you look at your calendar, take a pause and think about the appointment that isn't written in your book, but it is scheduled in God's. We may miss an engagement on this Earth but we won't miss the most important event of all. God will make sure of it. Have you prepared?

<i> Ernie Fowler is the associate pastor of Pankeyville Baptist Church in Harrisburg.<i>