The most important moment of life on earth

“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

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	The most important moment of life on earth

By Fr. Mieczysław Piotrowski S.Chr.,
Love One Another! 2017-38
Eternal life

In the Holy Scriptures the Lord God makes us aware that we only have one earthly life: “it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). Death is the most important moment of life on earth.

The most important moment of life on earth

“Do not forget, there is no coming back” (Sir 38:21; comp. Job 16:22)

The Lord God makes us aware that we have but one life, and that it can’t be repeated. A person dies only once. In contrast, belief in the existence of reincarnation is a deceitful temptation of an evil spirit who wants people to start to trivialize the consequences of their sins and cease believing in the truth revealed by God of the unrepeatable nature of human life on earth. What Jesus teaches through the Church on the subject of reincarnation is unmistakable: “When ‘the single course of our earthly life’, is completed (Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, 48), we shall not return to other earthly lives: “it is appointed for men to die once.” (Heb 9:27); “There is no ‘reincarnation’ after death” (CCC 1013). Anyone who believes in reincarnation displays his naivety and religious ignorance, and above all, ceases to be a Christian, as he rejects Christ’s teaching. He follows “philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ” (Col 2:8). The Lord God wants our one and only unrepeatable earthly life to be a time of maturity in love, and to move towards heaven. During life on earth we take part in the dramatic struggle of good and evil. We can choose good or evil, and declare ourselves to be with Jesus or against Him. These choices determine whether after death a person will achieve eternal happiness in heaven, or a horrifying eternity in hell.

The culminating moment of our lives on earth is death. At that moment our eternity will be determined: salvation or damnation

There will be a judgement

The culminating moment of our lives on earth is death. At that moment our eternity will be determined: salvation or damnation. For each of us, our death will be its own kind of end of the world. At that time, we meet Jesus face to face and our judgement will be pronounced upon us. In the light of God’s boundless love we will confront the entire truth about ourselves, all our good and evil actions. The only criterion of the judgement at the death of the person is love. We will hear the words of Jesus: “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. […] just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt 25:40, 45-46). This will be the moment of indescribable joy for the people who followed the path of love for God and neighbor. In contrast, horror will overwhelm those who disdained love for God and neighbor, and chose egoism, living as though God did not exist. The Scripture warns: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” (Gal 6:7-8). The Lord Jesus says: “The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge” (John 12:48).

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Source: https://loamagazine.org/archive/2017/2017-38/the-most-important-moment-of-life-on-earth

The above article was published with permission from Miłujcie się! in April 2021.

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