Not all kinds of record books are about achieving a feat or breaking a record. Record books can record any listing of acts or deeds. As I think about this Easter, I am reminded that there are two record books mentioned in the Bible. The first is not a pleasant one. It records every sin and every offense against God. It is a very thick book. Psalm 130:3-4 says that if God should mark every iniquity, who could stand? This is the book I am held to account for when I stand before God in judgment. This book is a ledger book.The second book is the Book of Life. This book contains not a record of my action, but a record of those who are redeemed by God. It is almost like a receipt or an admission ticket. When I go sign in to trade shows, I want my name to be on the registered list because it means that I am able to attend. Someone had to pay the price for my name to be on the list. There is only one relevant action to be in that book and that is the complete payment of sins by Jesus Christ. We want our name in that book and not in the ledger book.
In Ezekiel and Revelation, the ledger book is described as sweet to the taste and bitter to the stomach. God's wrath should be bitter - it carries a high cost in judgment, one way or the other. On Good Friday, the realization that Christ was bearing the complete wrath of God in full payment should be nauseatingly bitter. It also should be bitter to the realization that those who are relying on their own ledger book will receive the full weight of the judgment of God. On Easter Sunday, it is sweet to the soul as we are in complete relationship with God. Psalm 130:4 describes the transition from the ledger book to the book of life this way - "As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why You are worshiped." (MSG)
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