Where is Your Reward?

Matthew 6:1 

¹ “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:1&version=NIV

This verse is a very special verse to me because of a childhood experience.  When I was around 10 years old we had an evangelist come to our church.  He preached but he also drew beautiful chalk drawings that had a black light and you could see another picture when you turned on the light.  Each evening he would draw a picture and would give it to the person who brought the most people to church.  One evening I was selected to be in the contest and I went out and brought a lot of people.  I didn’t just ask people who were in church I looked for those who were not and invited them.  The next evening as we stood to be counted with those we had invited, there was a tie between another person and myself.  Then, the preacher remembered that the other person had invited him so I lost.  I had worked hard to get that picture and I was quite disappointed.

The next morning the pastor of our church came to our house.  He came before I even got out of bed and I will never forget what he told me.  He told me that my reward was not in that picture but was stored up in heaven for me and that it was an even better reward than that drawing.  That turn of events changed my ways on why I do things.  I don’t do them for a thank you, for a picture, or to be recognized.  I do all things for the Lord.  The only way that I want to be recognized is with Him by my side and me giving praise and glory to Him.  A thank you on this earth is nice but the reward in Heaven is much greater. 

The next night we did it all again and I won the picture.  You know what happened to that picture?  It got rolled up and put in the closet.  When my dad moved after my mother’s death, I found the picture and it is somewhere in my house, still rolled up and not in the best of shape.  But you know what, I am not concerned about it because the next night I didn’t invite those people so I could get the picture but because I wanted to invite them to the Lord.

What are you doing and why are you doing it?  If it is to feel better about yourself, to get recognition, to feel that you are important, for money or for any other reason than for giving glory to the Lord, you need to check you motives and remember where your reward is being stored.

As you seek Him and find Him may you remember that the things of this earth will pass away and that your reward awaits you in Heaven if you do it for the right reason.  Next time someone doesn’t thank you for doing something, remember that your reward will come and it will be amazing.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila