We live in a society where the more work and responsibility we take on, the more we will be rewarded. In God’s Kingdom, the same holds true!
We go in for a job interview and are offered a job (consider this the free gift of salvation that God offers us). We can either choose to take the job (accept Christ) or do something else (not accept Christ). IF we do take the job, we enter into the job at an introductory level. The rest is up to you.
If you are perfectly content with working at the lowest level with the least responsibility, your pay will remain minimum wage (at least you have job security...i.e. you still get to keep the gift of salvation). If you choose to work hard and seek a promotion, you will be given more responsibility with higher pay.
Sometimes taking on more responsibility at work is not a good thing. Longer hours, more stress, less free time. But in God’s Kingdom, it is always a good thing. Greater joy, more freedom, and awesome eternal rewards which we will get to keep forever!
What does taking a job promotion in God’s Kingdom look like? If we look to the beginning of Revelation (chapters 2-3), we find God giving instructions to the churches. But not just to the churches, more specifically to the angel of the church. The Greek word used here for angel is ‘angelos’ which also means ‘messenger’. This word is used to describe John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2). John the Baptist was an ‘angel’ or 'messenger.’ We, as leaders in God’s Kingdom, are also ‘angels’ or ‘messengers.’ (I am obviously not referring here to celestial beings, but rather as overseers…or going along with our analogy of the workplace, as supervisors.)
The messenger is responsible to guard the message (God’s word) and not let it be distorted through compromise, fear, or neglect. The apostolic leaders are responsible before God to boldly proclaim what Jesus revealed in these letters and to establish an action plan to implement the truths. Leaders must not draw back when others become angry at Jesus’ message in Revelation 2-3. (Consider this our job description if we are willing to be promoted.)
We must also be consistently bold. People follow whatever message is publicly proclaimed so long as it is grounded in truth, consistent, and bold.
How can we be consistently bold? By knowing the rewards we will receive. These are not bribes. While at work, we know that if the boss is watching and we do just a little extra we will receive more money or perhaps a raise. We are of course going to do our best to perform. But this is totally up to us! The boss is not forcing us to work harder for a pay raise, we must want the raise our self.
We do NOT get to Heaven on our works. That is VERY true statement—salvation is a completely free gift. It is our ticket to Heaven. BUT, the Word tells us that faith without works is dead. Not only that, but in Revelation, it is revealed that the more work we perform here on earth, the more rewards we will receive in Heaven. You will still get to Heaven even without these extra works, but why would we not want those extra rewards?
We will all receive different amounts of each of the rewards based on our diligence (job performance) here on Earth. When put in this perspective, it makes perfect sense. Person A and Person B are both Christians (they have both accepted the free gift of salvation). Person A is continually praying for people, helping the poor, the widows, the orphans, leading others and being a disciple. Person B is attending church on Sunday morning and is not doing any of the other things that Person A is doing. Again, they will both be in Heaven, but Person A is certainly going to be given more rewards for their works.
My challenge for the day is to be diligent in my work while in this life. I want to have an increase in my blessings and I want to see God’s Kingdom strengthened.
Below are the twenty eternal rewards that I have been mentioning. They are found in Revelation 2-3.
Our Twenty Eternal Rewards:
to eat from the tree of life in the midst of Paradise (2:7);
to receive the crown of life (2:10);
to not be hurt by the second death (2:11);
to eat hidden manna (2:17);
to receive a white stone (2:17);
to receive a new name written on the stone (2:17);
to have power over the nations (2:26);
to receive the morning star (2:28);
to receive white garments (3:5);
to receive a name that is not blotted from the Book of Life (3:5);
for Jesus to confess one’s name before the Father and angels (3:5);
for one’s persecutors to worship before their feet (3:9);
for one’s persecutors to know that Jesus loves them (3:9);
to be made a pillar in God’s temple (3:12);
to have God’s name, the New Jerusalem’s name, and Jesus’ new name written on them (3:12);
to receive gold to make one rich (3:18);
to receive white garments (3:18);
to have anointed eyes to see more (3:18);
to eat with Jesus (3:20);
to sit on His throne. (3:21).
-His Beloved Son, Ricky
