“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:12 (NKJV)

Beloved,

We know that we are in transit (1 Peter 2:11 & Philippians 3:20) in this world as our home is not here but above. This implies that we are in mission here on earth and, as such, we will one day have to give account for everything that we have done during our stay here. We won’t account only for our actions but our accountability will involve every word we have spoken as Jesus said in Matthew 12:36: “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”

In John 17, Jesus knew that his last hour was drawing near. So he prayed for himself (verses 1 to 5), for his disciples (verses 6 to 19) and for the believers (verses 20 to 26). His prayer for his disciples took the form of an accountability exercise where he was telling his father how he has kept the disciples the father gave him, except the son of perdition whom he lost so that the scripture might be fulfilled.

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) the lord of the three servants entrusted them with talents, each according to his ability and went on a journey. The verse 19 tells us that “after a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them”.

This teaches us that no matter how long or short our life on earth is, how fulfilled or not it has been, we should live with the conscience that we shall give account for everything that we have said or done. When we become conscious of that truth, it will literally change everything about us. We will not act just for acting sake, but I believe we will ensure we weigh our thoughts, align our words with God’s will and be selective about the kind of action we want to associate ourselves with.

In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul declared “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” For a man made of flesh and blood to boldly declare that at the end of his earthly journey, it took him deliberate and consistent discipline throughout his Christian life. May we emulate him.