The story is told of a young monk asking an older monk, "Father, if God is infinitely merciful, how can he deprive anyone of his heavenly kingdom?" The older monk answered, "Why do you keep turning your head from side to side?" The younger monk replied, "Because the sun keeps hitting me right in the eye and just won't leave me in peace." "Then you've answered your own question," the older monk laughed. "God doesn't deprive anyone of his heavenly kingdom. Some simply cannot bear the light, any more than you can bear the sun."

This vision of the last judgment is telling us that there is a greater standard than what we think or what we are comfortable with. Leander Keck has noted that true authority is not self-generated but stands over against us because it has its own integrity. It is a standard by which we can be judged. This speaks of an ultimate justice where that which is wrong will be made right. We will be held accountable.