GOD OFFERS REWARDS

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11-12). "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets" (Luke 6:23).

Devotion 7 of 12

THE EXAMPLE OF PAUL

As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul's work was unspeakably great. His commission boggles the mind. "Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (Acts 26:18). In spite of this mandate, Paul's reception was not commendable. He was confronted with "perils" on every hand. "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Cor. 11:27). How could Paul maintain spiritual consistency in the face of such hardship?

The answer is found in incentives and rewards. The Apostle did not fulfill his ministry out of a sense of obligation, but willingly. Hear his testimony, and let it speak to your heart. "For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me" (1 Cor. 9:17). There would be fewer preacher burn-outs if such an attitude prevailed in the contemporary ministry. What lies ahead for the faithful servant dwarfs the few difficulties he is called to endure in this life. That is why God's promises are so rich!

Even at the end of Paul's life, the future beckoned him on. Divine incentives and the promise of reward made the yoke easy and the burden light. As He entered into the valley of the shadow of death, his testimony confirms the power of incentives. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). The excellence of his fight, the completion of his race, and the maintenance of his faith were all in order to the obtaining of the crown of righteousness.

This is the fruition of the life of faith. It is no marvel that the devil has labored so hard to obscure the glorious future of the sons and daughters of the Most High! Once they are convinced of their reward, believers throw themselves into their ministries, shaking the kingdom of darkness in the process!

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for the testimony of the Apostle Paul. I also praise Your name the crown of righteousness is not for Paul alone, but for all those who love Christ's appearing. In the name of Jesus, I ask for grace to complete my race looking for that reward.

-- TOMORROW: REWARDED AT HIS COMING --