It’s astounding how many ordinarily sensible, logical people play fast-and-loose with the destiny of their eternal souls.

They wouldn’t dare do the same with their money or possessions. They meticulously plan for their “golden years,” yet don’t give so much as a fleeting thought to what happens to them on the other side of the grave — the side that lasts forever! 

The Bible reminds us of the “inconvenient fact” that one day we are scheduled to “meet our Maker.” Wouldn’t it be comforting to know that when we do, that we’ll meet a friendly face looking back at us?

But it means that we must act intentionally, and not just “take our chances” or “hope for the best.”

The Bible warns that on the fateful day when we are “called to account,” we will meet our God one of two ways — either as a gentle lamb to protect us, or as a powerful lion to judge us.

Which one we meet will hinge upon our personal relationship with Jesus Christ that was formed — or not formed — during our lifetimes. 

Revelation 5:4-6 illustrates the point:

“Then I (John) began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ And I saw between the throne … and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slaughtered …”

We learn from scripture that the Lion described in the above verses is the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, in the very next verse, the same Jesus appears as a Lamb, bearing the scars of having been brutally killed.

How can this be? Lion or Lamb, which is it?

Bible commentator Bill MacDonald wrote, “In Revelation our Lord is presented both as Lamb and Lion. As the Lamb of God, He is the sacrificial One, bearing away the sins of the world. As the Lion, He is the Judge, punishing His enemies. At His first coming (2,000 years ago), He was the Lamb. At His second coming (still future), He will be the Lion.”

Two thousand years ago, men thought they’d seen the last of Jesus. But despite their best efforts otherwise, He returned three days later in resurrection, ascended to Heaven 40 days later, and is NOW preparing to return for good amid great fanfare.

As foretold in Matthew 24:30: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”

The lowly Lamb returns as the conquering Lion. MacDonald described it this way: “The One who was spit upon and crucified will be vindicated as the Lord of life and glory. The meek and lowly Jesus will appear as Jehovah Himself. The sacrificial Lamb will descend as the conquering Lion. The despised Carpenter of Nazareth will come as King of kings and Lord of lords. His chariots will be the clouds of heaven. He will come in regal power and splendor — the moment for which creation has groaned for thousands of years.”

There is no time like the present.

As we approach another new year, how about making a resolution that will dramatically affect your present life and eternally impact your future?

Rather than promise yourself to lose a few physical pounds, how about shedding the spiritual burden of your sins?

In a previous column I wrote, “The phrase ‘Pay me now, or pay me later’ was a popular advertising slogan of yesteryear, addressing our pesky human tendency to procrastinate. It pictured two surly auto mechanics holding up a FRAM oil filter, suggesting that either you bite the bullet now and install their brand of oil filters in your car or face dire consequences later …”

There is a sense in which God is saying to every one of us, “See Me now, or see Me later with respect to my Son Jesus.”

At the present time, we are in a rapidly closing period of grace in which God is patiently waiting for each one of us to decide whose side we are on. Wouldn’t you rather be on His “good side?”

As written in Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near … let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”