Labour And Reward

At a point in my life, I had this mindset of “God does not owe me anything”. I always asked myself “God has done so much, and given so much for me, why should I still expect ‘Rewards’ from my little (and sometimes inconsistent) work for Him? Can it compare to what He has done for me?”. As a result, anytime someone was talking about labouring for God, and its attendant rewards, I almost always switched off.

But, while it is true that God does not owe us anything (Romans 11:35-36, Job 41:11), it is also very true that God rewards the labours of His children as we see in 1Corinthians 3:14, Matthew 6:1-6, Psalms 62:12 and in many other scriptures. So it is Biblical truth, that rewards await God’s children, both here on Earth, and in Heaven.

However, there is a scripture that tells us the exact kind of Labour that God will not forget, and would surely reward.

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister”. Hebrews 6:10

We are made to understand that it goes against God’s nature of Righteousness to forget work done in Love. So in essence, Love is the metric unit of how much work is actually done. As workers in God’s vineyard, it is important that all of our efforts to minister to the Saints and edify the body of Christ stems from a response of Love to the Love God has shown us. Anything outside of this is clashing cymbals, noisy gongs and any other annoying distraction you can think about. Any work done outside of Love is nothing and is not deserving of any reward.

While it can be quite tasking to always work in love (especially due to human nature rearing its head every now and then in that uncooperative coworker, or non-compromising HOD), working in Love is how we input records into heaven’s books. So, take time to assess your motives, and ensure they are in the right place.

Also, as people who aim to be truly Christlike in every aspect of our lives, it would be very unrighteous for us too, to wilfully forget or scorn labours of Love done by people for us. If there is someone you need to call and appreciate, do what God would do; contact that person (or those people) and let them know in no uncertain terms, how much of a blessing they have been to you. That in itself is a Reward.