THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2
“And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:4 ESV
CHASING REWARDS
Years ago Tim Tebow was interviewed by ESPN about his legacy and said, “One day, people are going to forget about the Heisman Trophy, the jump pass and the national championship. One day, this [championship] ring is going to rust. There are only four things that are going to last forever: God, His word, people and rewards.” “Because I’m so passionate about it, and because I learned that gift so early, I don’t want to go to heaven and hear Jesus tell me, ’Tim, why didn’t you tell someone else about it?’” (Tim Tebow, ESPN)
We have talked all week about not doing things for man’s approval. Jesus reminded His followers repeatedly that God sees our good deeds and God promises to reward those actions done for Jesus. The Bible teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, that one day the motivation behind our actions will be revealed and rewarded: “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
There are times we are tempted to think we have been doing the right thing and it’s “not working.” We can feel unnoticed and unrewarded. This can apply to our parenting, marriage, work, singleness, church life or so many other areas. But God promises that He sees and He will reward us for doing the right thing. Is there an area in your life where you have been trying to do the right thing but feel like it’s “not working?” Share your frustrations with God. Ask God to give you the strength and perseverance you need to hang in there. Ask God to help you embrace an eternal reward stored up for you as a good motivation to keep doing the right thing.
