No Mistakes in Giving These Rewards
It is not uncommon for the public to have other ideas about who the winners should have been at the Academy Awards, the Grammies, and the MVP in various sports. Nothing like that will happen when God gives his rewards.
Matthew 16:27 says he will reward according to our works. I Corinthians 3:8 says God will reward according to our labor.
In his book, God’s Eagles, G.D. Watson said that “the reward will correspond exactly to the action, and also to the magnitude or the weight of the action, and also to the amount of divine love, or of sacrifice, or of faith, or of persecution that has been put into the action ….”1
Illustrating the accuracy of God’s assessment, G.D. Watson wrote:
The government in Washington has a pair of scales so delicate that you can put a piece of thin paper on the scales and weigh it, and then write with a lead pencil on that same paper and weigh it again, and the scales will reveal not only the weight of the paper but also the weight of the amount of lead that was put on the paper from the pencil. This is a faint illustration of the way in which God will manifest in the judgment time the character and color and weight and dimension of all the actions and words, and even the thoughts of his people.2
The words “according to,” frequently asserted when mentioning the rewards, convey proportion, exactness, precision. This, quite rightly assumes that the Lord sees all. And that’s important; because, as G.D. Watson noted, “The greatest part of a good work is always out of sight, where the soul is working with God in holy prayer and purpose.”3
Often, it is the flamboyant and sensational which gain the world’s attention, but the omniscient eyes of the Lord will examine every aspect of even the most modest work of the least known saint. For this reason, Paul Billheimer declared:
In heaven’s “book” the nameless saint in the most remote and secluded spot, completely lost to view, and overshadowed in the battle, is just as important, and if he is faithful, will receive just as great a reward, as the most heralded and gifted leader.4
The exactness of this assessment doesn’t mean there will be a quid pro quo arrangement, an even trade out for reciprocal good; because, while the proportion intended takes into account the quantity and quality of the works being rewarded, it also takes into account the greatness of God’s love and the riches of his glory.
The proportion indicated in these verses reflects the relation between works honored and the heart of the one who does the honoring. Every work will bring about a love-motivated reward by an exceedingly rich God! In some way, known only to God, there will be exactness in these rewards corresponding to the criteria used.
Headliners get the attention in the entertainment industry, not the backups, the crew, the people behind the scenes. The same is true in sports. The stars stay in the limelight, not the bench, the trainer, and others on the squad. God has a more discerning eye.
I Corinthians 15:58 says our labor is not in vain in the Lord. Galatians 6:9 declares we will reap if we faint not. Hebrews 6:10 assures us: “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name ....”
A.W. Pink pointed out that the word ‘labor’ is a stronger word than ‘work,’ “signifying effort to the point of fatigue.”5 Indeed, God will never overlook the love that labors like that!
In this world, the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately rationale often prevails. In sports, for example, a coach may have won the division title two years ago, but if his team hasn’t done as well since, he may be vilified in the press and fired by the owner.
But God isn’t like that! What you have done will never be forgotten, and will never go unrewarded.
The take-away principle is one which underscores the principle that every day matters. There is one watching you wanting to see your best and bless that. You may have lived out of the limelight, but God will reward you publicly.
Matthew 6:6 says the Father, who sees in secret, will reward openly. So instead of some personal, informal, off-to-the-side rewarding, God will stage a ceremony before billions of people—and who knows how many angels?
To that one who labored in some obscure part of the world, and to that mother who served the Lord in her quiet, faithful way, God will give the attention they never sought, but, once given, they will never forget.
The story is told of an elderly missionary couple forced to return to the states due to ill health. As it turned out, they were on the same ship with President Theodore Roosevelt who was returning from one of his famous game-hunting expeditions in Africa.
As the ship pulled into dock, the bands played and the crowds cheered when their President disembarked from the ship.
Meanwhile, this missionary couple got off the ship, unheralded and unnoticed, and found a cheap flat on the east side of the city where they would retire.
Their arrival home, after years of service, meant nothing.
That night, the missionary husband said to his wife, “It’s not fair! When the President comes home from a pleasure trip, everyone is there to cheer him. But when we come home after forty years of missionary service, no one is there to welcome us.”
Not knowing how to answer her husband, the sweet little missionary wife said, “I know you feel hurt. Why don’t you turn this over to the Lord in prayer?”
Fine! Her husband decided to do just that! Retreating to his bedroom to pray, he laid it all out before the Lord—the unfairness of a cheering crowd for a returning President after two weeks of fun, but nothing for him and his wife when they arrived home after forty years of service.
To this complaint, this great grievance, the Lord spoke but five words that completely changed this man’s outlook. The five words from the Lord were these— “But you’re not home yet.”
Isn’t that good? There’s going to be a rewarding far grander than what the President received that day!
For instead of curious spectators and paid staff, God himself will be waiting at the dock! And accompanying him will be all the angels and citizens of Heaven!
So when you arrive home, dear and faithful Christian, the celebration that will greet you, and the rewards that will be given to you, will be everything you could have ever hoped for—and more!
A.B. Simpson assured us, “God’s bonds are long time ones, and they all accumulate compound interest, and when the day of maturity comes we shall weep with wonder to see the meaning of his hundredfold.”6
Just a glimpse of God’s rewards will excite our motivation to serve him, and will subsequently steady us during those hard times encountered while we do serve him.
The Lord is willing to grace our goodness as we offer it, and to reward us later in ways that are exceedingly, abundantly, more than we could ever ask or think. Far more, in fact, than what we thought we should receive when we were holding up our ill-conceived fairness standard.
Fair? Strictly speaking, not really; because what we will receive is more than fair.
Notes:
1. G.D. Watson, God’s Eagles, (Salem, Ohio, Schmul Publishing Company, 1989), p.151.
2. Ibid., p.149.
3. G.D. Watson, Our Own God, (Hampton, TN, Harvey Christian Publishers, 2008), p.16.
4. Paul Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, (Minneapolis, Bethany House, 1975), p.106.
5. A.W. Pink, Practical Christianity, (Grand Rapids, MI., Baker Book House, 1975), p.153.
6. A.B. Simpson, The Christ of the Bible Commentary, Volume One, (Camp Hill, PA., WingSpread Publications, 2009), p.255.
