THE ETERNAL REWARD

"Watch out that you do not lose the prize for which we have been working so hard. Be diligent so that you will receive your full reward. For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son." 2 John 8-9

We all look forward to being rewarded in life. From our earliest years, we are taught that proper behavior leads to some sort of gain. A young child might be treated to ice cream for being good. When students study hard, they learn that they earn good grades and academic recognition. Teens earn allowances for pitching in and helping out around the house. Adults are given raises or promotions for outstanding performance in the work place. Workers who dedicate years of service to a company will earn retirement pay. From infancy to senior adulthood, we learn to seek and gain material reward. This is a worldly reward system that will cease when someone dies. Many never realize there is another reward system available that will never cease but follow one into eternity. This reward only comes in knowing and following Jesus Christ.

For Jesus and Jesus alone was sent by our Heavenly Father to serve as a sin sacrifice for you, I, and all creation. He was the perfect, faultless, unblemished Lamb of God who was nailed to the cross along with all of our sins so that we might be saved from certain destruction. His blood was spilled to cleanse us and prepare us to join Him in Heaven with the Father at this life’s end. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it." (John 3:16-17) Our resurrection, liberation from the afflictions of this world, and opportunity to live with our Father and His Son forever are our reward for having "fellowship with both the Father and the Son" as we travel the Christian walk day by day.

Question: Have you given you body, soul, heart, and mind to Jesus just as He did it for you? Have you gained your eternal reward through your faith in Jesus and your subsequent service in accordance with His Will for you? There’s much at stake and you have everything to forfeit by losing the prize. As John urges, "be diligent so that you will receive your full reward." It’s what the Father hoped for when He gave His Son for you. Don’t miss out on your reward. Come to Jesus and receive eternal life.

In Christ,

Mark

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