An Open Book

Revelation 20:12

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.

Our lives should be an open book. There is no greater feeling than to live without something hanging over your head or something you fear might be exposed. When businesses are audited, the auditors go through the books to make sure there are no indiscretions and the work or business they said they were doing is indeed what they did. Sometimes what we say we do, doesn’t match what we say we did. We live in a time where people have an attitude that says, “It’s my business as to how I live my life and only God can judge me!” They are partly right. If you choose to live without accountability that’s your business and God will judge you. Now is that the smartest way to live your life? No. If I can avoid being judged and my life condemns me for something that could have been avoided I will choose to live my life as an open book.

John had seen a vision on the Isle of Patmos of Heaven and he saw the dead, great and small standing in front of God’s throne and each one had books that were opened. We will be judged for what’s written in each one of our individual books. Every day you are adding to your book or your story. Many of you are authors without even knowing it. Everything we do is written in our book, good and bad. God is the recorder of your life. When we write our autobiographies we tell what we want people to hear, when God writes he records everything uncut. What’s in your book?

When I write books I think that I’m finished but there is one more step I need. I need an editor. The editor’s job is to catch my mistakes and errors. The editor’s job is to say something better than I could have expressed. The Editor is not going to allow me to publish something that doesn’t really represent who I am. The Holy Spirit and Jesus work together in your life to edit out what goes into your final revision. Some of the stuff you did won't show up in the final book because the Holy Spirit brought it up to you and you were so convicted by the mistake that you asked Jesus to forgive you and make you over. As a result of Jesus being in your life he took out what could have made it into the final draft by dying for your sins on the cross.

The final book is the book of life. The only way you can get into heaven is that your name is written in the book of life. When you have a relationship with Jesus your mistakes are edited out and you are presented Holy and acceptable before God.

Is your life an open book?

1. Do you live with transparency? Can you take an innocent child with you everywhere you go? If not could you take Jesus with you? Why or why not?

2. Do you have a clear conscience? Are you doing anything that could embarrass you or hurt your reputation?

3. Have you done more good than you have bad? Do you have enough “good works” to make a book? Only what you do for Christ will last and faith without works is dead.

Dear God,

Help me to live my life in a way that everybody can see that I live for you. Please forgive me for my sins and don’t let them show up in the Book of Life but please write my name in the book. I just want to hear you say, “Well done good and faithful servant you’ve been faithful over a few things, now come on up and I will make you ruler over many.”

In Jesus Name,
Amen