Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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Danny Hickman
We are hopelessly self-centered; I don't believe we can think beyond that sinful condition while we are in our bodies. When we talk about the rewards that God has promised to give us when he returns for us, the emphasis is usually on what we will receive on a personal basis. I don't think we can avoid thinking of it like that. And I don't think it's the right way to feel about it.
The scripture says, 'The Son of Man will come.. and will reward each person according to what he has done' (Mt 16:27).
I think that scripture can be greatly misunderstood by us! We are hopelessly self-centered; we want to know what will MY reward be! That's exactly how Jesus' crew felt.
When Jesus counseled the rich young ruler, the young man turned down the opportunity to follow Jesus because Jesus told him to give all his worldly possessions away and come with him. Peter then reminded Jesus that they had left all they owned and followed him. Jesus told them he would make it worth their time (Mk 10).
James and John made a special request that when 'the dust settles,' they wanted high positions in Jesus' kingdom (Mt 20).
"Each man according to what he has done." That means there is no 'family plan' or 'team trophy.' It doesnt mean some rewards carry less value, some trophies are larger than others. That's how we read it, it seems to me. We are hopelessly cut from that cloth!
Each reward fits each recipient; it was designed for him/her; that is what gives it its value! It's tailor made!
Danny Hickman
I see it here often: 'my reward when I get to heaven.' The scripture makes it sound as if you have a scorecard, and your reward will reflect your level of participation in service to the Lord. So it causes some of us to try to win MVP. We want a larger portion of the glory. We work with our future reward in mind! That ought not be!
The bible says "each man" for a good reason. God wants you to know that belonging to a certain family, being someone's son or daughter, being an Israelite, etc, doesn't make us worthy of a reward when he returns. It doesnt mean that he has a bag filled with rewards that are different in value to the recipients.
We value things according to a flawed system. Our value system is worldly; our scanners aren't made for the bar codes on the rewards we will receive. How do I know this?
Jesus tried / tries very hard to get us to change the way we think. It's next to impossible for some of us.
For instance, he said that the greatest player on the team would be the one who washes the other players' dusty feet. He said the servant had the best job (Lk 22:26). The humble person is the greatest in God's kingdom (Mt 18:4).
I don't think many of us are waiting for Jesus to return and reward us with the job of being the team foot washer! We just ain't built like that!
I could list a hundred scriptures to support this truth about our rewards, and not many minds will be changed.
We are hopelessly self-centered! We don't want to wash feet!!