“See! I am coming soon!
My reward is with me
to repay everyone according to his work.”
Revelation 22:12 ISV
Sometimes, when I am sitting outside my house, I will look up and see
the most magnificent, brilliant blue sky full of large, fluffy, pure white clouds
in all shapes and sizes. These puffs of fluff often remind me of cotton candy. A sky like that always sets my mind to
thinking about heaven. I am reminded that Jesus left this world in the
clouds and he promised that he would return in the same manner in which he was taken
away. As I think about heaven I often wonder what it will be like to meet my
Savior. I know for certain this is one party I do not want to miss.
In my lifetime I have been invited to many parties and events that required
that I bring a gift to give to the guest or guests of honor. If I were to arrive
at the party without a gift, I would be very embarrassed and I would feel very
sad that I had nothing to give to honor the individual or individuals who were being
honored.
I would likewise be very sad to enter heaven and stand before Jesus
empty handed. I am reminded that this life counts! This life is my
opportunity to live for Jesus in such a way that I will be rewarded in heaven. The
Bible teaches that believers will be awarded crowns for the work they did on
earth. These crowns are not for me to enjoy but are to be laid at the feet of
Jesus. If I arrive in heaven without having earned any crowns I will have
nothing to give to the One who gave his all for me.
It is important to know that salvation is free but rewards must be
earned and they must be earned in this life. After we become a Believer, the remainder of time that we spend on this
earth is a time of preparation for heaven. The days I live on earth will be
used by God to refine my character and change me in ways that will bring glory
to him. My days on earth are filled with opportunities for me to earn rewards
for the work I do for my Heavenly Father.
The Bible teaches that all of our
works will be judged by God. “If any man
builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or
straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to
light. It will be revealed with fire, and the
fire will test the quality of each
man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If
it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he
himself will be saved, but only
as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NIV
If I find myself working for rewards for my own personal gain or if I have
an attitude of pride as a result of my work, that work will burn up in the fire
and will not stand. It will only be the selfless works that will withstand
the fire when tried by God. These selfless works are pure and will result in
eternal reward. However, if my work proves to be selfish and prideful I will
suffer loss of reward. As a forgiven child of God I will be safe, but I may
experience sadness at the judgment seat of Christ when I realize that my works
have been burned up in the fire because I have served God selfishly and in a
spirit of pride. In addition, I will be sad because I have nothing to give to my
Savior when I enter heaven.
At one time in my life this truth left me feeling very uncomfortable.
I didn’t feel like I had anything great to offer in service. Others were more
gifted, and far more talented than me. I really didn’t think there was much I
was qualified to do. Much of my small
work in the church was done for all of the wrong reasons. I did some work well
but then I realized that I couldn’t be trusted with a compliment! Compliments
made my head swell with pride. Yuck! Other times I had a poor attitude because
I felt like I had to do all the work. At times I carried guilt that I must win
large numbers of people to Christ because this was the only acceptable pure
work. The fact was I wasn’t a preacher or a missionary. I didn’t even have the
gift of evangelism, so what was I to do? The answer was clear. Suffer loss and
enter heaven empty handed! I was very sad because I so desperately wanted
crowns to lay at the feet of Jesus. I no longer was trying to work my way to
heaven but now I was trying to chalk up God’s approval by doing works that
hopefully he would approve.
The Bible teaches that there are four separate crowns for which we as
believers should make every effort to win. The good news is that these
crowns are not out of reach for any Christian that strives to please God. I
would like to suggest that most likely, this side of heaven, I will not even
realize that something I have done is worthy of receiving a crown. Isn’t that
beautiful?
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trails because when he has
stood the test he will receive the crown
of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 NIV The crown of life is given to
Christians who endure their trials in
this life. God takes note of our faithfulness to him during difficult
times. If we leave this world as faithful overcomers of the difficulties we
experience in life we will win the crown
of life because we have done the
selfless work of faithfulness.
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown
of rejoicing? Are not even (you) in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ
at his coming?” 1 Thessalonians 2:19 KJV When we get to heaven there will be much personal rejoicing over others
who are there because of our influence, our testimony, and our invitation to
accept Jesus Christ. Some of us are better at this than others. Some have
the gift of evangelism and other do not but all of us can choose to exhibit a
godly witness that is seen by others as they observe the choices we make and
the attitudes we display. When we exhibit peace and joy regardless of our
circumstances God is glorified and others are influenced to find and follow Jesus.
At the very least if we have children, we have the responsibility to teach them
the way to the Father. In this life we may never know the many lives that we
have touched but God does. God will not miss a single soul that is in heaven
because of our influence and for the
work of godly influence the Father will reward us with the crown of rejoicing. Even our silent testimony is of value if a
life is changed because of our life.
“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as
overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you
to be, not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd
appears, you will receive the crown of
glory that will never fade away.” 1 Peter 5:2-4 NIV Ministers, Elders and Deacons are most
certainly shepherds but that does not leave the rest of us out. Being a
care-giver to someone we love, encouraging and praying for our family, training,
teaching, and sharing what God has opened our eyes to see, and being an example
of faithfulness to God is without a doubt shepherding. In the simplest of terms a shepherd cares for his sheep. Each one
of us cannot reach the entire world but God has given each of us a certain
number of individuals who fall within our circle of care and influence. These
are the sheep that God has given each
one of us to care for. For sure it is our immediate family members, then our
extended family members. At times that may seem selfish to put those we love
first, but in reality what a tragedy it would be to minister to the whole world
and loose our own family!
We also have opportunity to serve our co-workers, neighbors, and church
friends each week. Most of us frequent the same stores and often have
contact with the same individuals. Don’t worry about shepherding the people you
don’t know simply reach out in love to the people you do know. Also be on the
look out daily for new people that God may send your way. There are also many
opportunities to give of our resources so that others can go and serve where we
cannot. Our ability to shepherd others
does not have to be perfect it only has to be sincere. God knows the work
we do for others and he knows if it is self-centered or if it is done for the
glory of God. If the latter is true then God will award us the crown of glory. God rewards selfless obedience.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith. Now there is in store for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to
me on that day – and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his
appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV The crown of righteousness will be given to believers who seek to live pure lives and
are longing for the second coming of Jesus Christ. This life does matter. If
we are endeavoring to make good choices in life and if we are longing for our
Savior’s return we will be given the
crown of righteousness.
Our works are not to be burdensome. We should not walk around
feeling guilty saying, “I ought to do this or that”. However, we should be
intentional about striving to obey God when he entrusts us to even the smallest
of tasks. If God puts something or
someone on my heart I want to believe that he thinks it is an important
assignment. Therefore, I should take seriously his request and carry
through for him. Because I am a list maker I often keep a “To Do List for God”.
This list serves as a reminder of the things that God is prompting me to do no
matter how great or small. When the task is complete I cross it off. This list
is different than the other lists I keep. Crossing things off of this list does
not signify my accomplishment. It does
however signify my obedience. I must admit that there are still many “God Suggestions” on my list
that have not been crossed off. It is my goal to cross off each and every God assignment.
In a nut shell, God basically calls us to do four things for which we
will receive crowns. I am delighted to realize that none of these works are
impossible or out of my reach! We must remember that God wants us to succeed.
-Persevere and remain faithful to God during
our trials.
-Invest our life in the lives of non-believers
by pointing them to Jesus.
-Shepherd, disciple and care for believers.
-Seek to live a pure life and long for the
return of Jesus Christ.
Crowns may or may not be literal, I do not know. But at any rate, what
they represent is of utmost importance. Those things are so important to
God that he is willing to reward us for our obedience. Our works will either be
credited to us or taken from us and burned up in the fire. Much of what we do
is certainly important, but God seems to indicate that faithfulness, godly influence,
shepherding, striving to live a pure life, and longing for Jesus’ return are
the things that will withstand the fire. These
things in themselves seem to already stand alone in purity because they are
void of selfish motive. Selfishness cannot abide in faithfulness,
selfishness is not a part of godly influence, and there is no shepherd that
thinks of self ahead of others. Pure living is void of self. Although, longing
for Jesus’ return may be selfish. I imagine that if we don’t long for his
returning it most likely will be because we love the things of this world too
much.
I can’t help but think that we too will somehow benefit from the
significance of the crowns that we lay at Jesus’ feet. Though we will
surrender to Jesus the crown of life
we will still possess eternal life and perhaps have a greater capacity to enjoy
heaven. When the crown of rejoicing is
laid at Jesus’ feet our own personal rejoicing will be beyond our imagination
and it will last throughout eternity. We will most likely have a greater
capacity to comprehend and enjoy the glory of God because of the crown of righteousness. At long last we will truly see what
righteousness really looks like in the eyes of the Father and we will be amazed. When I stand before God at the
believer’s judgment my clothing will be the filthy rags of my sin, covered over
by the blood of the Righteous One. God will
not see my sinful rags because he will only see the blood of Jesus that
covers all my sin.
Salvation is a free gift but our works will be examined by God to see
if they will stand the fire of purification. If God sees that our works are
pure they will be stored up for us in heaven for all eternity. Our works are important not in number but
rather in purity. God will be looking for our works that involving selfless
obedience, our concern and love for those he has given us to care for, and our
faithfulness to him.
Questions:
Are you remaining faithful to Jesus even in the midst
of your current trial?
Are you being obedient to God’s assignment for today?
Are you currently shepherding someone?
Do you look forward to Jesus’ return?
Prayer:
Dear God,
Dear God,
Today I pray that I will remember
every day that this life counts. God, search my heart and reveal to me where my
works are impure because they are tainted with selfishness and pride. God, I do
long for crowns that I can lay at the feet of your precious Son, Jesus. He
alone is worthy to receive glory, power, honor, and dominion. God, I do not
want to arrive in heaven without a gift to lay at the feet of my Savior. Father,
I thank you that you have loved me enough to entrust me with your holy
assignments. Help me to be obedient to you by serving and reaching out to those
you have given me. God, I do long for the return of your son, Jesus Christ.
It is in his name I pray. Amen
