Reward

Simon earns a huge salary, providing a luxurious lifestyle for him and his family. His wife, Stacey, keeps their home and tends after the daily needs of her husband and three children.

One day, Stacey voiced her opinion about the fact that she did not earn a salary the way Simon did and yet, her role as wife and mother is just as important. “Your life is very rewarding,” Stacey said, “but all my efforts hardly see any rewards.”

“That is not completely true,” Simon said, “your efforts are stacking up rewards invisible to the human eye.”

“What do you mean?” Stacey said.

“Jesus said that when He returns with His angels, He will reward each of us according to our works.” (Matthew 16:27)

“We are not going to be rewarded by the size of our salaries or the car we drive. The only factor determining the size of our reward depends on the number and the size of our virtuous deeds.” (Rom 2:6, Psalm 62:12)

“Our deeds would include the way we praised and worshiped God and how often we did that. How often we seek the presence of God not because we need Him but because we longed for His close presence just because we loved Him so much.”

“How many times have we prayed for other people?”

“What did we do for other people to save them or to assist them or comfort them?”

“Each one of us are going to receive the crown of eternal life (Rev 2:10, 3:11) but how will that ‘crown’ sparkle in the light of our rewards?”

“All the money that I am earning comes in very handy and is nice to have but if I don’t make a difference in the hearts and lives of other people, my salary will profit me nothing.”

“Should we compare our deeds, Stacey, you would most probably have accrued much more rewards in your heavenly vault than me. God distributes His rewards according to His own special criteria.”