For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Matthew 16:27 NIVUK
I didn’t like the bonus structure in one of my previous jobs. It wasn’t because I didn’t get a good bonus – sometimes I did; sometimes I didn’t. It was because it pitted us against our colleagues. It made us compete. So if you had a good year, you might think that you would be in for a great bonus, but if someone else in the department had a better year, you might not.
I felt it was a bad idea for teamwork, poor for morale and just the wrong thing. It didn’t really reward good work. Instead, it rewarded those who were good at selling themselves and making the most of what they had did.
Fundamentally, it wasn’t fair.
This is a verse that should be understood correctly. What Jesus is saying here is that people will receive the fair reward for their efforts. It is not saying that we will be saved by our works. Because that is plainly and demonstrably not true:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NIVUK
If our works could save us, then why would Jesus bother going to the cross and bearing all its horrific violence and pain?
Of course Jesus is not saying here that our works will save us!
But what He is saying is that we will be fairly rewarded for the good we do. As Paul explained to the Corinthians:
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58 NIVUK
Before this verse, we have seen some of the most challenging teaching in all Scripture. Denying self, taking up the cross and following Jesus when He was so focused on going to His own death that it left the disciples astonished (Mark 10:32) was no easy task.
And yes, we understand that this is no ‘suffer till you die for the sweet bye and bye’. We understand that to be our true selves, both here and in Heaven, we need to follow Jesus.
But here, in these verses, we see a far greater reward. We see that God knows, God sees and God will reward – and fairly.
Allow me to show you another example from Scripture:
‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – along with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life.
Mark 10:29-30 NIVUK
So when we set out to obey Jesus’ command, and seek the good of our soul rather than our back account or our libido, there is a reward – a huge reward. This reward is both in this life and the next.
I can tell you this is very true.
In 1998, I caught the train from my home to Glasgow – something I had done countless times before. Only this time in particular I had a lot of luggage with me. I was on my way to London and then Netherlands and then Czdch Republic, before settling in Romania for the best part of three years, where I served with Operation Mobilisation. I left my family behind, but God gave me a new one in Romania. I left behind friends; God gave me new ones in Romania. I left behind my church and served in numerous churches across the country. I left behind my culture and acquired a new one, as well as a language.
And then, completely unexpectedly, God extended my journey to the Philippines, where I met my wife and ministered in her church too, and made new friends, and learned another culture. I also gained a daughter, and through my wife’s financial acumen, a house.
All this happened because, on an August day in 1998, I was prepared to answer God’s call to put Him first and get on that train.
God amply rewards those who follow Him.
So what’s stopping you?
Questions
1. Why is it important that there is a reward in Heaven and on earth for those who follow Jesus?
2. Why is this reward not our salvation? What is it instead?
3. What is stopping you from obtaining g this reward?
Comments