“But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.”
Exodus 32:32–33
Revelation 20:12–15 gives us a picture of God’s future judgement, how the inhabitants of the world, living and dead, will be gathered together and anyone not found written in His Book of Life will be cast out. For many people, the thought of this verse keeps them up at night wondering, “Is my name written in that book?”
Of course, we know that we are connected to Christ through baptism (Galatians 3:26–29), but does that mean my name is written in the Book of Life?
Look Closely
I think Exodus 32:32–33 offers a great deal of comfort in this regard, if we just look at this verse a little closer. The account in Exodus has Moses interceding on behalf of the Israelites after they had sinned against God. Moses asks that God not blot out their name from His book. What book is he referring to? Based on the context, it is reasonable to assume he is referring to God’s Book of Life. What Moses asks is that God not blot out their names. This means, their names must have already been written into God’s Book!
We’re Already In!
This forces a change in perspective. We do not earn a spot in His book—we are already written in the Book once we have been connected to the promise through baptism. All we need to do is to keep our names in the book by doing our best to follow God’s commandments for us, and live our lives, to the best of our ability, in service to him.
I’m so glad that I don’t have to earn a place in the book of life, that would be a cumbersome and unattainable endeavor. All God asks of us is to persevere in his commandments and give it our best shot. We can do that! Lovely thought:)
Our best shot. Sounds simple enough but when you really think about those few words it’s not at all simple. It is sobering for me to think all I have to do is my best. Do I give this work my best?