As each day progresses, we continue to imagine a week without Jesus. SINDAY has come and gone, and we have been reminded that without Jesus, there would be no forgiveness of sins. MOURNDAY has made its appearance, not as a regular Monday, but as we imagine without Jesus, this day would be filled with sadness and no reason to rejoice. (Read about SINDAY and MOURNDAY here)

Now, a new day has come…

TUESDAY

But, without Jesus, Tuesday would not be Tuesday; Tuesday would be TEARSDAY. Without Jesus, life would be hell and filled with tears from weeping and gnashing of teeth. I’m reminded of Paul’s words as he describes the day the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven. Paul explains that when Jesus appears, He will be with “His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Paul says that those who receive retribution don’t know God and have not obeyed the gospel. Simply put, these people are without Jesus, and those who are without Jesus will pay a penalty of destruction and isolation from the Lord’s presence and the glory of His power. I’m my opinion, that is the scariest part of the penalty. It brings tears to my eyes because presently on this earth, people with and even without Jesus can enjoy His presence to some degree. Even the atheist can look around her and experience God’s presence as displayed in creation even if she does not believe in the God that created it for her to enjoy. But there is coming a day of great emptiness and isolation when those that pay the penalty will truly be away from the presence of the Lord.

Jesus explains the penalty for the wicked in the day of judgment when He teaches through the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus says being ready for judgment is like when a man is leaving on a journey. He gives all his workers an amount of responsibility while he is gone. Two of the three workers were prosperous while the man was gone. These entered into the joy of their master. One man was wicked and lazy and was thrown out away from the presence of the master into “the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

It’s easy to make application from this. When we are without Jesus, we are in hell where there are tears from weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now that is a scary place to be. Today is Tuesday, and you can make it what it really is or make it a TEARSDAY without Jesus.

Tomorrow, we’ll find out what Wednesday would be like if it was spent without Jesus.

~ Alex