Rewards: Part 4

What Are Rewards(continued)
One of the glories of eternal life is to see God. So Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”(Matthew 5:8). John too writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is”(1 John 3:2). Now this is something to live for. I’ve been awed by mountain peaks, calmed by the ocean waves, amazed at the brilliance of coral life, but one day I will see the Maker of these and many other glorious visions I have not seen. And this Maker is infinitely more brilliant, awesome, calming, and beautiful than anything he has made. In fact, the vision of him is so powerful that John states that it will transform us: “We will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Thus, the degree of this sight, this vision, is in some part dependent upon the way we live our lives now.

Or take another example. Again the apostle Paul writes, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?”(1 Thessalonians 2:19) Paul is asking rhetorically what exactly does he consider his reward? And the answer; “Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” The reward is people! Jesus says something similar: “Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life (read eternal rewards), so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together.” The one who sows (i.e. first shares the gospel) and the one who reaps (i.e. has the privilege of leading that person to follow Christ) are gathering fruit for eternal life, and the fruit, it seems, are the people they are gathering. Here again the reward now and the reward future are one and the same. Our eternal joy is the same as our current joy, which in this case is seeing people’s lives transformed and brought into eternal life.

One more example. In Jesus’ parable of the talents, the master says to his faithful servant, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” That last statement is what strikes me. Part of the reward is the “joy of your master.” Certainly, eternal life means joy for all those who enter it, but the degree of joy seems to hinge on the degree of faithfulness. After all, the reward isn’t just joy. It is the “joy of your master.” Experiencing God’s joy in the future will partly depend upon the degree which I enjoy him now.

In James 1:25, he states that in obedience to God we will be “blessed in our doing.” He doesn’t say blessed “for” our doing, but “in” our doing. The obedience itself is a reward. Paul says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Obeying that command doesn’t just bring us a reward; it is the reward. So eternal rewards are not a bigger house, a fancy crown, or a standing ovation. The reward for seeking joy in God is greater joy in God, and the reward for loving others is more love for others.