​Stopped at the Airport

I heard the only question that will be asked on Judgment Day.

By Glenn Ernford Lie, as told to Andrew McChesney

Only one question will be asked on Judgment Day. I heard it when my international flight landed in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon.

The U.S. immigration officer glanced at my Norwegian passport and then up at me at Portland International Airport. “What are your plans?” he asked.

“I am visiting a friend,” I replied.

“What is the address?” he said.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But she is going to meet me here at the airport.”

The immigration officer didn’t look pleased that I didn’t know the address.

“So, where did you meet her?” he said.

“At a college outside London.”

“What did you study there?”

“Theology.”

The immigration officer studied my face.

“Are you a believer?” he said.

“Yes.”

He looked down at my passport in his hand and then back at me.

“So, why are you saved?” he said.

The answer tumbled out of my mouth.

“Because Jesus died for me,” I said.

The immigration officer looked at me.

“Good answer,” he said. “You may enter.”

I smiled and entered the United States.

The significance of the conversation struck me as I walked to the baggage claim area. Only one question will be asked on Judgment Day: Why are you saved? The answer is found in 1 John 5:11-13, which says, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (NKJV).

Why are you saved? With the assurance of salvation, you can reply with confidence, “Because Jesus died for me.” In return, you will hear the sweet words, “Good answer. You may enter.”

Glenn Ernford Lie, 55, is a teacher at Østmarka Seventh-day Adventist School in Oslo, Norway, and a member and former youth pastor of Betal Seventh-day Adventist Church, which received part of a 2017 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering to open a youth community center.