“I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done” (Rev 20:12).
All of our works are recorded in the memory of our Heavenly Father, and each person will be judged according to love and justice. Our Father knows even the hidden depths of our hearts.
If we do not keep the reality of the Judgment before us in our lives, and if we do not act with this awareness, then we lose an essential orientation for our existence. Indeed, the reality of the Last Judgment shows us the ultimate seriousness of our lives and calls us to responsibility. It is capable of shaking us and awakening us to live with prudence and sobriety before God. With this awareness, we will leave behind any kind of frivolity and aspire to “the things that are above” (Col 3:2).
Perhaps some people perceive this truth that faith teaches us as a threat. But this can only be the case if they do not know our loving Father as He really is and have not yet sufficiently assimilated the depth of our faith.
What doesn’t our Father do to communicate His love and His constant desire to forgive us? Many passages of Sacred Scripture testify to this. It is enough to look at the Cross of Jesus to understand how far God’s love goes to meet us and draw us to Himself.
God is not afraid to give Himself in order to grant us eternal life and to write our names in the Book of Life.
No, there is no reason to fear the Last Judgment if we have walked in God’s ways. On the contrary, the awareness of the judgment should be an incentive to treasure the good works that we will be able to present. When our particular judgment comes at the hour of our death, the Lord will reward us for them. When the time comes for the Universal Judgment in the presence of all people, our good works will be our glory.
If we look at it in the right way, we can await the great Day of the Lord with joy and serenity, and even long for it with the deepest desire, as is proper to children.