Jury Duty

It came in the mail a few weeks ago and since then it had been in the back of my mind, a jury duty summons. I was summoned to appear at the Madison County courthouse to serve on a jury. The uncertainty of knowing how everything was going to happen occupied my mind in the days leading up to serving.

Monday morning I showed up at the Madison County Courthouse to serve on a jury. It wasn't until later in the day that I was selected to be part of a jury pool. The case I was being considered for was quite serious and a conviction would have brought heavy consequences. I prayed, for the victim, for the accused, and for myself.

It became obvious as the indictment was read that this was serious, real serious. The mood in the room was intense and focused. The prosecutor and defense attorney rattled off questions to us as potential jurors. Jury questioning concluded late Monday afternoon and a jury was to be seated Tuesday morning.

At 9AM Tuesday morning I arrived at the courthouse waiting to find out if I would be a member of the jury which would try the case. As it would turn out, a potential juror received a ride home from the victim's family Monday night thereby “tainting” the jury and causing a mistrial. We were all sent home as a result of this mistake.

Spending any length of time in a courtroom can cause us to think about our pending appointment before the Judge. The Bible tells us that each of us will one day sit before the throne of God in judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27). Unlike in the courtroom made by man, when we face God in judgment we can rest assured it will be just. There will be no need to worry about a tainted jury, or a mistrial, our Judge is righteous.

At judgment, there will be no circumstantial evidence or false accusations to worry about. The Bible is clear that we will be judged according to our works done here on earth. So the question becomes this; what kind of works are you performing on earth? Are you performing that which is emblematic of a person who is a faithful follower of Jesus Christ or are they works of the flesh?

Make no mistake, there is a judgment day coming, and the stakes are high. When you are called into the throne room of God and the verdict is announced what will it be? “Good and faithful” or “Depart, I never knew you?”