Heaven's Reward – Eternal Joy with God
Heaven is our ultimate hope as believers in Jesus. This is not to say we don't live life to the full today – remember what we said on Monday, that "hovering over the great gulf" as we are, we live with all our might to God's glory while we can.
One of the reasons that we live for God is because He promises us great reward for doing so. Now, some of us feel uncomfortable with this. We feel that doing good in order to receive a reward is wrong. We feel that selflessness is the only real motive for service. And in a sense this is true – when we serve only because we get something in return, we have to question our motives.
The Reward of Relationship
But when I serve my wife, it is not in a completely selfless way. For me it is greatly rewarding to love her, to do life with her, to enjoy her presence and her person. I don't only serve her for what I can get from her, but serving her is rewarding for me in itself. I get to be with her and that brings me great joy!
In a sense it is the same with serving God. We serve Him not because we want to get stuff from Him. But when we serve Him out of love, we are deeply rewarded because we get to be with Him, to enjoy His love and His person, and ultimately to spend eternity with Him, which is the greatest reward of all.
Eternal Glory for Faithful Service
John Wesley wrote about this in a sermon called "Use of Money", in which he said: "As you yourself are not your own, but his, such is, likewise, all that you enjoy. Such is your soul and your body, not your own, but God's... And he has told you, in the most clear and express terms, how you are to employ it for him, in such a manner, that it may be all an holy sacrifice, acceptable through Christ Jesus. And this light, easy service, he has promised to reward with an eternal weight of glory."
Yes, when we serve God with all that we have, we are assured of a great eternal reward – being with Him forever.
Listen to what Paul wrote to the early Christians in Corinth: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9).
We can think of heaven as a place with streets of gold, or as a place with lots of chocolate, or as a place of beautiful nature, and all these are just images of earth. Heaven is not heaven because it has earthly stuff you enjoy. No, heaven will be heaven because it is there that we will be reunited with God in great joy! This union with God will be the most wonderful reward for those who lived for Him.
Look forward to the day when you receive your reward. What a day that will be. And while you wait, serve Him with all your heart.
