Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: 1 Peter 4:1-11
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
After a preacher died and went to heaven, he noticed that a New York cabdriver had been given more than he had. "I don't understand," he complained to St. Peter. "I devoted my entire life to my congregation."
"Our policy is to reward results," explained St. Peter. "Now what happened, Reverend, whenever you gave a sermon?"
The minister admitted that some in the congregation fell asleep.
"Exactly, " said St. Peter. "And when people rode in this man's taxi, they not only stayed awake, they prayed!" (Christianglobe.com).
Though this story is fictional in nature, it sparks certain images about heaven and what we will receive when we enter its gates. Have you ever considered what heavenly rewards wait the faithful servants of the Lord? To be honest, this is not a subject that I think or write about on my own often enough, and perhaps you don't ponder this much either. Yet this illustration is true because we will one day be rewarded by God Himself for service and evangelism done in His name.
But when we are asked to give our free time to serve our church or a campus Christian organization, we may struggle with how much we want to get involved, if at all. If we are not being paid upfront for our efforts (or at all), we may not take it very seriously. However, we need to work extra hard at looking beyond our earthly payday and anticipate the day when the Lord will reward us for how well we have served Him.
We need the kind of perspective offered by the apostle Peter in today's Bible reading. He emphasized the long-term values of serving others for God's glory, not merely living for ourselves (1 Peter 4:1-11). As we do this each day, we can be sure we "will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward" (Colossians 3:24).
With heaven's eternal majesty and wonder in your sights, faithfully serve the Lord today wherever He calls you to go. Faith Lesson: Serving others results in joy and satisfaction right now as well as rewards from God when we get to heaven.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
READ: 1 Peter 4:1-11
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
After a preacher died and went to heaven, he noticed that a New York cabdriver had been given more than he had. "I don't understand," he complained to St. Peter. "I devoted my entire life to my congregation."
"Our policy is to reward results," explained St. Peter. "Now what happened, Reverend, whenever you gave a sermon?"
The minister admitted that some in the congregation fell asleep.
"Exactly, " said St. Peter. "And when people rode in this man's taxi, they not only stayed awake, they prayed!" (Christianglobe.com).
Though this story is fictional in nature, it sparks certain images about heaven and what we will receive when we enter its gates. Have you ever considered what heavenly rewards wait the faithful servants of the Lord? To be honest, this is not a subject that I think or write about on my own often enough, and perhaps you don't ponder this much either. Yet this illustration is true because we will one day be rewarded by God Himself for service and evangelism done in His name.
But when we are asked to give our free time to serve our church or a campus Christian organization, we may struggle with how much we want to get involved, if at all. If we are not being paid upfront for our efforts (or at all), we may not take it very seriously. However, we need to work extra hard at looking beyond our earthly payday and anticipate the day when the Lord will reward us for how well we have served Him.
We need the kind of perspective offered by the apostle Peter in today's Bible reading. He emphasized the long-term values of serving others for God's glory, not merely living for ourselves (1 Peter 4:1-11). As we do this each day, we can be sure we "will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward" (Colossians 3:24).
With heaven's eternal majesty and wonder in your sights, faithfully serve the Lord today wherever He calls you to go. Faith Lesson: Serving others results in joy and satisfaction right now as well as rewards from God when we get to heaven.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
