Our eternal reward will be reigning with Christ in his Kingdom. That will be the reward for storing our treasure in heaven. It will be unimaginable and inconceivable to us now on earth. That is what drives me in this life.
For the past several years I’ve been thinking about my treasure in heaven.
Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
It’s not that I’m really old at death’s door with a failing, worn out body…not at all. Though I’m pushing 70 years of age I can easily bench press my body weight and can do a fairly mean sprint. So it’s not that wizened and wrinkled I have to start thinking on the things of eternity. Not really. I almost feel like Caleb who at the age of 85 was ready to attack and take the Promised Land.
Over the past 40 years I’ve been to around 45 countries around the world for the sake of the gospel. We’ve ministered to the poorest of the poor in unreached villages in gospel-resistant nations, as well as to the super rich living in a huge mansion in a major city. I’ve been involved in a few historic campaigns in the Third World. One servant of God I trained shared with me that on three separate occasions in his ministry where he preached to huge crowds, he witnessed one million people accept Christ at each meeting—totaling three million people in all.
As I like to say, I’ve been around the block a couple of times and seen a few things.
The Lord has already blessed us in this life beyond measure—our marriage, our health, our family, our ministry, and of course our saving relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our house, car, and personal debts are all paid off. The Lord has kept the promise He made to us back in 1977, and we are now enjoying heaven on earth. But we want much more: we want heaven in heaven—not simply eternal life, but the fulfillment of our eternal reward in heaven which is above and beyond eternal life. What does Scripture say about that?
1 Corinthians 2:9 “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—
And if we really love him we will follow Him as obedient disciples, keeping his commands (John 14:15).
What has God prepared for those who love him and who actually keep his holy commands?
Revelation 22:12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. …5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Our eternal reward will be reigning with Christ in his Kingdom. That will be the reward for storing our treasure in heaven. It will be unimaginable and inconceivable to us now on earth.
That is what drives me in this life.
We want to “win the race” (1 Corinthians 9:24) like the racehorse Secretariat, who in 1973 won the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown by a staggering 31 lengths.
The Determination of Eternal Reward
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Written while awe-inspired by the Lord’s emerald beaches off northwest Florida to encourage fellow disciples who are sold out to Jesus Christ