Your Permanent Record

Your Permanent Record

Revelation 20: 11&12

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

   When I was in school, there was something you were constantly warned about.  If you were bad or did something really wrong, a report would be sent to the Principal's office and placed in your PERMANENT RECORD!  Nothing more needed to be said.  Your Permanent Record was filed in the Principal's office, and it put the fear of GOD in your heart!  You had never seen your Permanent Record, but that didn't matter.  You knew it was there.  The threat was enough to make you think twice.  You had a picture in your mind of rows of steel filing cabinets with the Permanent Records of every student who went to the school and everyone who had ever gone to that school filed in them. 

   You also knew that a copy of your Permanent Record would go to college if you went on to one and would follow you to your first job and every job after that one as well.  You mistakes would never be forgotten, they would be there for everyone to read about.  Any time some teacher or boss wanted to know if you had ever done anything really stupid or just plain mean they could go to your file and read all about it.

   OK, stop laughing!  It wasn’t funny!  Your Permanent Record was a real threat and a genuine cause of worry for us!  You didn’t want everyone you met the rest of your life to know about your mistakes.

   I have a terrible feeling that my generation may have been the last one to believe in the Permanent Record.  It has disappeared from society.  There was time when people stopped before they did something deceitful, unethical or immoral.  They didn't stop because they were especially holy, but because they believed that if they did the deed it would end up in a permanent record.  You believed that someone would find out about it.  You believed that nothing would remain a secret forever.

   People have come to realize that there is no permanent record and they can do these wicked things and often get away with it.  No one would know if they were clever enough, or if they found out you could give a valid excuse.  Your upbringing was bad or your parents were separated or you were poor.  There are dozens of excuses people use to validate their bad behavior, as long as they don’t have to take responsibility themselves.  You can offer some excuse like "it was a crazy time in my life" and be forgiven for anything. 

   The things people used to be ashamed of are now laughed at in comedy clubs.  The things people used to be ashamed of now have Congressional lobbies protecting them.  If the things were unusual enough, the person can even make a lot of money by writing a book about it.  They would become "interesting" people at parties. 

   Talk shows are filled with guests bragging about the wicked things they do.  People are thanked for being "honest" with the audience who gasp and applaud at the appropriate times. 

   Yes, people figured out that there never had been a Permanent Record to follow you through life.  Today, we have accepted the fact that no one is keeping track.  No one is even allowed to keep track, it's a violation of our Constitutional rights.  We look back on the idea of the Permanent Record with a nostalgic feeling and smile because we were so naïve to believe in one. 

   But…

   I am a little old-fashioned.  I believe that on some future day, when we check out of our earthly lives, we will find ourselves standing in a long line.  As we look around, our self-righteous smile will freeze on our face.  Here we stand at the head of the line and an angelic being will call us forward.  We will step forward and stand, all alone, before a Glorious Heavenly Figure seated on a Great Throne.  Another angelic being will be standing off to one side with some books.  This angelic being will open up a book with our name on it.  He'll begin leafing through our PERMANENT RECORD.  Will the words of that book be covered by the Blood of Jesus?  Or will the words still be there for all to see.  

Stephen Cram                         September 18, 2011                        Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8