Will I Be Ashamed?

When I was in high school I was a poor student academically and not because I couldn’t get good grades, but because I didn’t want to get good grades. Simply put, I was academically indifferent and lazy. Well, that indifference and laziness led to very low marks and tension between my parents and I who knew I could do better and therefore, wanted me to do better. I always dreaded showing mom and dad my report card because it always resulted in questions and discussions on how I needed to improve my grades.

So upon receiving my report card one day I made a decision to eliminate the “pep talk” I knew I would hear when I got home; I simply would not show mom and dad. Hey, it made sense to me. By not revealing it to them it would give me another semester to get my grades up and be praised for being so diligent. Ok adults wipe that smirk off your face and if any young people are reading this, trust me, don’t try this!

You see there was far more tension having to consistently cover my mischievous deed then it would’ve been listening to the annual, “pep talk.” Then it happened. My parents discovered what I had done. Boy I will never forget the day my mother picked me up from work and asked me the question that said I know what you’ve done. Her tone of voice expressed both anger and disappointment as she said, “Is there anything you want to tell me?” I had been caught and there was nothing for me to say but to hang my head in shame and admit my wrong doing.

So why did I share that incident in my life? Simply to say this, Jesus is going to come back one day. John told us, “he shall appear” (1 John 2:28). The verse doesn’t say He might appear or hopefully He will appear, but rather He shall appear. It’s an affirmative statement telling us Christ’s return is a guarantee.

However, in that verse the apostle also encourages us to abide in Christ so we will not be ashamed when He does return (1 John 2:28). Now, I find that interesting because that means it’s quite possible for me to actually be ashamed of myself when the Saviour does come back again. Would you agree with me that that is not an aspect of Christ’s return we hear a lot about? We hear about the trumpet sounding, being changed in the twinkling of an eye, and even being ever present with the Lord, but how many sermons have you heard about being ashamed at His coming? Think about it, what in the world would cause a Christian to be ashamed when Jesus comes back to get them?

Well how about unconfessed sin (1 John 1:8-10)? You know, I was ashamed of myself when I sat in the presence of my mom admitting I had been dishonest to her and my dad. I was grieved that I had hurt them and breached their trust in me. And that was only my earthly parents. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be living in sin, have Jesus return and then have to stand before Him having to admit to a lifestyle of unconfessed sin.

Could lack of service and improper motives in our service for Christ be a source of shame if He were to return this very evening? How about a lack of obedience to the great commission? Imagine it, the trumpet sounds, the clouds are rolled back, and instantly we are lifted into Christ’s presence forever. But what would we be able to say we did for Him on earth? Who would be in His presence as a result of our godly influence and evangelistic efforts?

As I look back on the day my lie to my parents was uncovered I’m so thankful that they never stopped loving me and they never even thought about kicking me out of the house (I never worried about those things by the way). However, I knew there would be punishment and I would have to win back their trust over time. I’m also thankful that God will never stop loving me, and nothing I do will ever get me excommunicated from heaven, but I do want to live in such a way that I will not be ashamed when He comes back for me. So perhaps a good question to ask ourselves when we are contemplating certain actions and decisions is this, if I were doing this when Jesus returned would I be ashamed?

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