Goodboy
Just waiting for the Rapture at this point!
Where Are All My Rewards?
(Mat 5:11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
(Mat 5:12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
(Mat 5:46) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
(Mat 6:1) Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
(Luk 6:35) But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
(Luk 12:48) But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
The verses above illustrate that just doing what is right may not give you the rewards you think you might acquire in Heaven. Don’t misunderstand me, doing what is right will always yield rewards, but the rewards may be here and now rather than in Heaven. I believe there are many of us (myself included) who would be surprised to find that we do not have more rewards in Heaven or maybe we will have more!
The verse I would like to focus on is Luke 12:48 “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required”. While this principle may be easy to understand regarding money, it is not as apparent in other areas. Do you have a large capacity for love and giving? Is it easy for you to love people and give to them? Then yes you will be rewarded for loving and giving, but not to the same degree as someone with whom it is very hard to be loving or giving.
The point here is that you will gain more rewards in Heaven for the good deeds you do that are hard for you. In the same way you will gain more rewards in Heaven for refraining from the sins that most tempt you. In life the flesh seeks to do to what is most pleasurable and/or comfortable in the short term. To gain great rewards in Heaven you must not focus on the short term (this life) but the long term (eternity).
The Bible states (2 Co 5:7) “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. By sight it would seem that there are some people who are so good always helping others. Does this mean they we will receive great rewards in heaven? Only God knows. Was this easy or hard for them to do?
How about those that give all they have, but have very little?
How about those that share the Gospel with others even though they are extremely shy?
How about the former drug addict who refrains from using drugs?
How about the former thief who though poor refuse to steal anymore?
How about the husband or wife who does not get a divorce even though their marriage is very bad?
How about the person with homosexual desires who refuses to engage in the practice?
I believe that the bible teaches, “Great is their reward in Heaven”!
Goodboy!
(Mat 5:11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
(Mat 5:12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
(Mat 5:46) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
(Mat 6:1) Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
(Luk 6:35) But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
(Luk 12:48) But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
The verses above illustrate that just doing what is right may not give you the rewards you think you might acquire in Heaven. Don’t misunderstand me, doing what is right will always yield rewards, but the rewards may be here and now rather than in Heaven. I believe there are many of us (myself included) who would be surprised to find that we do not have more rewards in Heaven or maybe we will have more!
The verse I would like to focus on is Luke 12:48 “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required”. While this principle may be easy to understand regarding money, it is not as apparent in other areas. Do you have a large capacity for love and giving? Is it easy for you to love people and give to them? Then yes you will be rewarded for loving and giving, but not to the same degree as someone with whom it is very hard to be loving or giving.
The point here is that you will gain more rewards in Heaven for the good deeds you do that are hard for you. In the same way you will gain more rewards in Heaven for refraining from the sins that most tempt you. In life the flesh seeks to do to what is most pleasurable and/or comfortable in the short term. To gain great rewards in Heaven you must not focus on the short term (this life) but the long term (eternity).
The Bible states (2 Co 5:7) “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. By sight it would seem that there are some people who are so good always helping others. Does this mean they we will receive great rewards in heaven? Only God knows. Was this easy or hard for them to do?
How about those that give all they have, but have very little?
How about those that share the Gospel with others even though they are extremely shy?
How about the former drug addict who refrains from using drugs?
How about the former thief who though poor refuse to steal anymore?
How about the husband or wife who does not get a divorce even though their marriage is very bad?
How about the person with homosexual desires who refuses to engage in the practice?
I believe that the bible teaches, “Great is their reward in Heaven”!
Goodboy!
