”It’s Not the Cover, It’s the Content!”
By: Rev. J. Loren Russell, BA, MDiv.
SCRIPTURE: Revelation: 20:12 (ESV)
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
Statistics tell us that in the U.S.A., one person dies every 14 seconds, that’s 6,171 per day. The text tells us that books were opened at the throne, and everyone was judged according to their content. One of the books was the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The book of Revelation is an eschatological book that speaks of the end times. In this book we see plots and schemes surrounded by scary visions, symbols and symbolic language, personalities and people who are energized and directed by powerful demonic working to stop Christ from establishing His kingdom on earth. But when you look beyond the details, the images and the language and look at the big picture, you find a book of hope and promise.
As I read and re-read this verse, it became clear that the names found in The Lamb’s Book of Life will be based on the content of each of the other books, that the names found in the Lamb’s Book of Life are determined by the content of the other books…, our books.
Anyone whose name was not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. It will be JUDGEMENT DAY! We’ve all got a book. Our lives write our stories. Some of our books, no doubt, have beautiful covers, but the content is raggedy. But it’s not the outside cover that will count; it will be the content on the inside that matters.
We’ve all got a book. Some of our books have beautiful covers, but the content is raggedy. But it’s not the outside cover that will count; it’s the content that’s found on the inside that makes the difference! Impressing people with clothes, cars, houses or apartments, jobs, money, influence; any creature comforts of life, may make you feel good, but it’s all on the cover. Forget about the cover, the facade, all the outside trappings. There’s no content in any of it. We must realize that it’s what’s inside the book that counts. It’s the content, not the cover!
And you won’t have to worry about what’s already there. The Lord doesn’t care where you came from! We have to come from somewhere. All He cares about is where you’re going. I’ve learned that “Every saint has a past, but every sinner has a future!”
So what will be the content of your book! Will it say that you were born again? It’s not about the cover, it’s all about the content.
God Bless +++
Rev. J. Loren Russell, BS, MDiv is President/CEO of The JLR Company, and an associate minister at both Goodwill and Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx and hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio (internet), Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM. http://tobtr.com/s/7436671, or by phone at 626-226-1448. Note: You don’t have to talk, but you can access the show by calling in.
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