A Word About Life and Things
Rewards
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We all like to have rewards for the things we do. In
grade school the teacher may give us a gold star for
our home work and on our test papers. We really have
a good day when we get two gold stars. We compete in
sports like swimming, track, volleyball, basketball,
football, hockey, and racing cars. Most of the time
we compete just to win a trophy. Some people want to
give everyone who competes a trophy. That is
foolishness; we need to lose sometimes so we can try
harder the next time to come in in first place.
Jesus said that whatever we give for the sake of the gospel we will receive back a hundredfold, in this life and the life to come. There was a very poor pastor in India. They had no electricity, no running water and lived in a small hut with his family. The man who lived next door was very wealthy. He owned a huge farm and had thousands of cows and many crops and employees. He sold milk and vegetables to people in the village. The man was very greedy; his prices were so high that most of the poor people could not afford to buy the food. One day 10 of his cow got loose and wandered over to the pastors house. The man heard about it and sent his men over to get the cows. The next day 10 more cows got out and came over again to the pastors property. This happened again and again and again. The man got so frustrated that he told the pastor to just keep the cows. The pastor was so excited that he began to sell milk and other things to the people in the village, but at a cheaper price than the rich man. Before long people were lined up at his door to buy from him. He was able to buy more cows. His business got so large the the other man came and said I cant compete with you, why dont you take over my business. He purchased it for a fraction of its worth. Today that pastor has a very large business with several hundred workers. There will be rewards in heaven also. Some grandmothers will have a bigger reward than some preachers. Rewards in heaven are based on our performance on earth. Did we do what God asked us to do? We have to submit our will to His will. We are no longer our own, we belong to Him, so we are serving Him and not ourselves. There are different levels in hell also. We also receive judgement for what we do on the earth. Those that destroyed life on the earth will be in the lowest part of hell. There are many good people in hell, they are still in hell but at a different level. People go to hell for one reason only, they did not ask Jesus to be their Savior. It is not how good we are, or how much money we gave to God, or the religion we belong too, it is do you know Jesus and does Jesus know you. God knows our heart and His judgment is true. We will get what we deserve in heaven or in hell. All that He asks of us is to accept His Son as our Savior. We submit our will to His will, then we know Him and He knows us. We have our reward. New King James Version Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first. New King James Version Mark 10:29 So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, 30 "who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life. New King James Version Jeremiah 9:23 Ά Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD. |