All of this and Rewards too?

All of this and Rewards too?  Matthew 6; Hebrews 11.6

People like rewards, have you noticed?  We shop with certain credit cards or at particular stores to rack up reward points, right?  When my children were toddlers, I had a reward system, where they earned tickets by doing particular things—putting away their toys, doing age-appropriate tasks, etc.  How much greater it is to catch our children doing right and reward them than the alternative!  Besides, it was also the way they learned to count, dumping over their little jars, and neatly stacking one ticket on top of another—1, 2, 3...  (Those were the days you know; huh, I wonder if rewarding them with little carnival-like tickets would do anything these days!)

Jesus talked about rewards for the faithful, which honestly I guess has always rankled me a little bit.  I have Jesus, I have peace, the Holy Spirit within and the promise of Heaven when I die—what more reward do I need than those?  Walking with Jesus is irreplaceable, and well the fact is, I would follow in the dust of the rabbi, even if there were no rewards promised.  I think I would follow Jesus, even if I were not guaranteed Heaven.  My life is simply better because of my relationship with him, and the fact that I know there is a God who loves me, hears and answers my prayers, and watches over me.  Plus, I am confident my sins are forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross.  However, the Bible promises eternal rewards to those who bear fruit for the kingdom of God.  In fact, the New Testament talks about those rewards in 25 different verses.

You see, it works like this:  living life with Jesus is our present reward, but it really is just the beginning. At the time of our physical death, we arrive at our chosen eternal destination—with God, surrounded by his love forever, or in the alternative place of separation from God forever.  Most folks stop short in thinking that the decisions we make mostly affect our destination, but there is so much more!  Indeed, it seems there is a direct connection between ‘good’ we do for God on earth and the ‘great’ he will do for us in Heaven.

Even the psalmist was confident as he said, “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.”¹ The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “He [God] is a rewarder to those who seek him.”² Clearly, the best reward of seeking is to find the thing that you are looking for. So the best reward that God, the Rewarder, gives is when he enables us to connect with him—when he gives us himself. 

Jesus said, For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.³

Here’s a peek at what Scripture says about how and what God rewards:

1. God will reward you for seeking him through spiritual acts such as   fasting and praying—like we just read in Matthew 6, specifically vs. 6.

2.  God will reward you for sacrifices you make for him.⁴ In fact, Jesus said that every person who sacrifices to follow him will be rewarded a hundredfold⁵

3.  God will reward you for serving those in need in his name.⁶

Paul explained, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”⁷  

Everything we do on a daily basis to serve others or serve God matters forever.  God does not miss a thing.  But I am heavily impacted by the totality of Hebrews 11.6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is” … and take a look at this, “and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  We believe that eternal life comes with rewards for God’s faithful children because he is a loving Father who delights in giving good gifts to us … forever.  I am in awe of that.

Christine 

PastorWoman.com

Look up these verses and meditate on them.

1 – Psalm 18.20

2 – Hebrews 11.6

3 – Matthew 16.27

4 – Luke 6.35 wow!

5 - Matthew 19.29

6 - Mark 9.41

7 - 2 Corinthians 5.9-10