Watching the Playback

For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. 2 Corinthians 5:10 New Living Translation (NLT)

 In my world of film and video, we have something called ‘playback’. After the “Roll camera,” “Speed,” “Action,” and “Cut,” the director can say, “I want to look at playback before we move on to the next scene.”

And the video assist technician, the script person, the client and agency, and director will gather around the video monitor to watch the favorite takes ‘play back’. Heads will nod in agreement. Or occasionally we will decide we need one more take with some minor adjustment.

It will be interesting to see if Judgment Day up there in God’s Kingdom will be some interesting version of playback. Without the possibility of ‘one more take’, of course.

Will our lives play out in Technicolor on Heaven’s giant silver screen? We could all gather there for years and years worth of playback.

There would be the heart lifting stories of one soul battling against all the odds, encountering all sorts of heartbreak and brutality, yet fighting for the victorious ending. We will applaud and give a standing ovation.

There be the villain’s story, who, given every opportunity and every advantage turned to selfishness and cruelty over and over again. The audience will grow quiet, knowing the judge will raise one hand in banishment and that person would disappear from their midst.

Playback. What will I be creating today in this movie of mine called ‘my life’? Will it be a scene worthy of watching? Or will I cringe during playback because of my misspoken lines and my attempt to dominate the scene?

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.

 “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” Malachi 3:16-18 New Living Translation (NLT)

Question: Have you ever thought of each day of your life playing out, larger than life, before the throne of judgment? How would that change the way you live today?

 (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.