I have spent more than half of my life standing before judges.  Now, before you conjure up visions of me in a court room on the wrong side of the law, let me explain. 

I am a former “beauty queen.”  Oh, how I hate that term.  I entered my first pageant at the age of twelve and my last at the age of thirty-one. 

Standing before a panel of men and women, while they assign you an arbitrary number based on their perceived value of your worth is a harrowing experience.  One not for the faint of heart. 

I lost more pageants than I won and was told that I was not good enough, or really, that someone else was better more times than I care to admit. 

So often in the world of pageants, the audience and other contestants are completely shocked at the outcome.  When the winner is announced a low rumble goes through the crowd and you see the other girls on stage giving “golf claps” to the winner.

“What were the judges thinking?!” is a familiar refrain heard from the lobby of the auditorium after a pageant.

As humans, though, the outcome will never be perfect because we have chosen an imperfect judging panel.  The very fact that they ARE human is what makes them imperfect.

I used to say that the only perfect pageant would be one judged by God, because He is the only perfect judge.

While I have absolutely no intention of ever standing before an earthly panel of judges again, I know that one day I will stand before Shopet, our ultimate Judge.

When I do, I want to hear “well done, good and faithful servant.”  When God judges me, he is not going to be looking at how pretty my evening gown is or how well I walked during the swimsuit competition. 

No, when I stand before Shopet on the day of judgement, he is not going to see me at all.  If He did, I would be found woefully lacking.  Instead, when He looks at me, He will see me clothed in the most amazing gown of all, Christ’s robes of righteousness.

“I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God, for He has clothed me with garments of salvation; He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with garland and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.” Isaiah 6:10

There is not one of us who can stand before our Judge, Shopet and be found not guilty.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Just one sin in our lives will condemn us forever.  How many have you and I already committed today?

Our only hope is to accept Christ’s free gift of salvation given at the cross.  Some may say that doing so would be too restrictive, because they see Christianity as a set of rules meant to keep them from enjoying life.

Actually, it is the most freeing thing that one can do, because it is no longer about you.  You cannot earn salvation and once you accept it there is nothing that you can do to lose it.

I absolutely love this analogy . . .

One day there was a young women, the daughter of the local judge, who was brought before the court.  Her crime was one that carried the punishment of death.  As she  stood there before her father, he declared her guilty of her crime.  The next thing that happened amazed everyone in the room.  For her father then stepped down from his seat and declared that he would take her punishment for her.  He would die in her place.

And friends, that is exactly what Christ did for us.  He stepped down from His throne and gave His life, so that we might live. 

Have you accepted the gift of eternal life?  Want to know more?  Just click the New Life link at the top of this page.