"Rewards"

Peter brought up the subject of rewards to Jesus. Paraphrased Peter said to the Lord Jesus, Look, we have left our families and our houses and our jobs all behind and have followed you for the past three years. What shall be our reward?


God certainly understands what makes us tick. Perhaps no chapter in the Bible illustrates the promised rewards from God better than Hebrews 11. In a chapter that has been titled by some “The Hall of Faith,” the author highlights the lives and contributions of the great men and women of faith in the Old Testament and the rewards God gave them because of their faith in him.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for…. Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Many of these great men and women exercised their faith but were able only to look forward to their reward; they never fully realized that reward during their lifetime. Indeed, some even endured hardship in anticipation of the promised reward. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance” Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Jacob, Joseph and Moses all lived a life of faith in spite of the fact that the reward was in the “distance.”

This is what each of us has to do in our lives, we have to trust God and have faith that He will bring us through difficult times. Sure, there will be many trials and tribulations set in front of us, just as there was for our ancestors. Without Faith, you will not survive anything thrown your way! Well there can be no more compelling motivation for the God-fearing believer than the fact that God himself will be our reward. We will not be absorbed into him, but we shall be immersed in him, into his true glory and beauty. The rewards God has in store are more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Will you get your reward while here on earth for doing well? Only God can answer that, but His promise is all that I need. The book of Hebrew is an all-telling book; you will find many walks of faith. I hope this will compel you to read and study it.

Jesus described himself as “the gate for the sheep”). John 10:7-10 (King James Version)
7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

As the gate, he was the one through whom his sheep would find not merely entrance into a secure fold but into a rich green “pasture The promise of life in Christ is the promise of abundant life – life “to the full” Jesus does not promise us a tiny reward; he promises us a life of fullness and abundance.

Those who come to God through Jesus will receive not merely eternal life in terms of duration; they will receive abundant life in terms of quality. Repeatedly, Jesus reminded his disciples about the benefits and rewards they would receive because they had chosen to follow him. Leaders who want to be effective will follow their example.

I ask that you take time out and read the whole book of Hebrews; I will continue studying the book myself and write more on it as the Lord reveals it to me. I hope you will ask Jesus for guidance in your life today and seek Him, so that you too will be able to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. God Bless you this day!