THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Believing When it Matters
IN THE PRESENT world, man believes in God on the basis of argument. In the Hereafter, he will believe in God on the basis of God’s might and power, for God will be visible to all.
It is as if in the present world argument is the representative of God. On the other hand, in the Hereafter, God will appear before men in all His glory. There will then be no choice but to believe in Him.
The true believers are those who believe in God on the basis of argument, who bow to truth while there is no other incentive at work. On the other hand, the deniers are those who fail to believe in truth for the sake of truth, who believe in truth only when they have no choice. A truth bereft of power and glory fails to impress them. Such people, who accept as their object of worship visible might and power and not the invisible God are not true believers.
God wants to test whether or not people truly believe in the sphere of the unseen, but people want to prove their belief in terms of what can be seen. Thus, the true believer is one who sees the world of eternity within the present world. He lives as if the realities of the next, unseen world were present before him. Unbelievers will also see the next world, but this will only be when all veils have been torn asunder by the shrill sound of the Trumpet announcing the resurrection of man. Then, all unseen realities will be visible to man. Man’s vision will not profit him on that day. It will be a time of retribution, not a time to give evidence of one’s faith in God.
Here man can pretend to be great, but it will not be long before his real position is exposed. On that day, many who have honour in this world will be debased, and many who claim to be friends of justice and humanity will be exposed as enemies of the very causes they ostensibly espoused; many who are acclaimed amongst the brave will be condemned as cowards; many who denied bowing to the truth will be exposed as shams; many who thought that they had reserved Heaven for themselves will find themselves at the gates of Hell. The more fearless of God a man has become, the more fearful is the moment which awaits him!
