“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great.” Luke 6:35 (NLT)
Heaven probably already sounds pretty good to you. But did you know there are going to be rewards in heaven?
You will be rewarded for everything you did in obedience to Jesus while on this Earth.
God is watching everything in your life. You will be rewarded in heaven for your good actions, speech, and thoughts; for your character and good decisions; and for your generosity and sacrifices. You’ll be rewarded for loving your enemies and for not giving up when it was difficult to do the right thing.
You will be rewarded for bringing other people to Jesus Christ. (Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you?)
You will be rewarded for putting up with criticism for being a Christian and for being persecuted as a believer. That’s why Jesus said, “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” (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV).
God is watching it all and is going to reward it all.
These rewards have nothing to do with your salvation. The only way you get into heaven is by faith in what Jesus Christ has already done for you. You can’t get into heaven by your good works. But the Bible says that when you get to heaven, you will be rewarded according to your good works.
There are all kinds of verses about this. Matthew 10:42 says, “If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (NLT).It seems like such a simple thing to give a cup of water to someone or to share a meal. But, every time you do that, it’s like God says, “I’m writing that one down. I’ve got them all recorded.”
You get to decide where you want your rewards. Do you want them in this life, or do you want them in the next life?
Jesus said, “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great” (Luke 6:35 NLT).
If you choose this life’s rewards—like popularity, wealth, fame, success, and comfort—then you will enjoy them for only 80 years or so. But if you build up rewards in heaven, you get to enjoy those rewards forever.
Don’t settle for the rewards this world has to offer. As a child of God, you have so much more to work for and look forward to!
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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