It’s the same drill each day for the lady with the long red hair.
She turns up at court to be flanked by a row of paparazzi photographers; all flashing their cameras in her face; some of whom she had once tasked herself to put ‘persons of interest’ under surveillance.
Once inside she empties her pockets and places her bag through the X-ray machine and is herself scanned by security. Then she walks up marble staircase to Court 12, steps into the dock where she places her hand on the Bible and swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
She surveys the packed court room. There are those praying for her freedom while others are longing to see her go down. Sitting on the fence does not exist in this space.
She’s under strict instructions to talk to no one; and so for the first time in her life she’s truly and spectacularly on her own.
She had nothing else left than to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Not an enviable position to be in, is it? On the other hand, if you have nothing to hide and truth to unearth, then being cross examined should be the most exonerating experience of your life.
The Bible says that on judgement day we will be fully and wholly known and as followers of Jesus we will have to give an account of our lives. Not a sexy subject is it when we rest on salvation alone as our ticket into heaven.
I often imagine the courts of law as a biblical representation of judgement day in the next life. On that day, each and every one of us will give an account of our lives.
It’ll be our moment; and our story.
In the dock we will learn how the story of how our lives unfolded from a heavenly and earthly perspective.
We will be able to make sense of the bad times, disappointments and betrayals of others as well as meet those who cheered us on. We’ll be able to settle the whys and wherefores, because in this life, we won’t necessarily find the answers to everything that comes our way.
On judgement day, I imagine our roles to be interchangeable as there’ll be other times when it will be you and I summoned in the court rooms of another standing trial. Once there, we’ll find out how we too impacted on the lives of others, however, fleeting, forgetful or profound that may have felt at that time.
In the meantime, let’s prepare for that day, because at the end of the day (or this life), there’ll be nowhere to hide on judgement day.
And then and only then can we learn the truth about our lives, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God.