What the Bible Says About How God Judges and Rewards Our Work

Though we consider the apostle Paul the greatest missionary in history, he received more lashes and stones than honorary banquets and spent more time in jail than in mansions. How did he continue under such duress? He looked ahead to God’s reward: “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day” (2 Tim. 4:8).

Why would Moses leave the luxury of Pharaoh’s palace for the harshness of the desert? Because he considered the “reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11:26). Serving God yielded Moses a vast storehouse of heavenly reward, though it meant a lifetime of struggle.

Every act, word, and thought will be credited by Christ: “Each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:8). If we seek to glorify God with a diligent and humble spirit, our laurels will multiply; if we seek merely to please others and reap their praise, then our rewards will shrink.

Rewards are not limited to the hereafter. Whenever we follow the principles of Scripture, we enjoy the blessings of obedience. “He who fears the commandment will be rewarded” (Prov. 13:13).

When Peter reminded Jesus that he had left everything behind to follow the Messiah, Christ responded, “There is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18:29, 39).

When one knows and serves God, every product of his or her life will be rewarded, either in this life or in heaven. God watches over all our ways, and He has promised to perfectly reward us. All those who “serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:24) will be rewarded, either positively or negatively, on the day of judgment of believers. The Christian who seeks to please God lays up treasures that can never be devalued or depleted.

Taken from The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible