"Close it! She will rise again at the last day."
Martin Luther upon burying his 13-year-old daughter, Magdalene.
Our church this week will wrap-up Mark 13, and it has us thinking about the Last Day, just as it did Luther at his daughter’s death. The central question on that Last Day is the same as the central question on this day: What have you done with Jesus?
For our encouragement and edification, here are some more biblical reminders about the last day.
1. Dr. John Piper has famously said, “One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.”
2. Confidence of great joy on the Last Day means you can have great joy today!
3. Those who are the great preachers today will not be revealed until the Last Day. I suspect on the Last Day, many pastors will regret using their influence to promote and defend earthly politicians. Labor for Jesus' eternal Kingdom, not fleeting ones. Let the Gospel be your offense, not your politics. Help people consider Jesus, He is our only hope.
4. On the Last Day, all atheists will see the insanity of their belief as they stand before the glory and authority of the sovereign Christ. Multiplied mercies in this life, if they do not make us repent of sin, become multiplied miseries at the last day (Romans 2:4).
5. Our church membership role today should reflect those who will inherit the kingdom of God on the Last Day.
6. On the Last Day, we will be surprised by how differently God evaluates things than we do. Heaven will be filled with many no-name saints who humbly served behind the scenes. They had no books written about them, but the Lord’s book is full of their deeds done in secret.
7. On that Last Day, when we look back on our lives, we will not regret a single instance of trusting and obeying Jesus along the way. Passionately express your love to your family each day as if it were the last day you'll be with them this side of heaven.
8. Sin is utterly stupid when viewed in light of eternity. Let us do nothing today that we will regret on that Last Day. And let us leave nothing undone we will wish we would have done. God, help us continually imagine ourselves before Your presence on that Last Day.
9. On the Last Day, Jesus will test the quality of each man's work, not its quantity. The issue will be what kind it is, not how much.
10. “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (Revelation 8:1) On the Last Day, all people will be arrested by the wisdom and glory of God. Many boast today, but only God will be exalted on that Day.
