Yesterday we ended with:

The greatest blessing a person could hope to have is a saving, personal relationship with God….
(Click here if you want to read all of Part I)

…And through that relationship He wants to give us many other blessings (These benefits are IN Him, not THROUGH Him, we cannot separate the gifts from the Giver. God is never a stepping stone to something else, He is always the destination).  In addition to Matt. 6, look at all the verses on the treasures and benefits God wants us to have. Of course, if God didn’t want us to be rewarded, He wouldn’t tell us how to do it, and if it wasn’t that important to Him, He wouldn’t give us all these verses (and there are many, many more):

God Himself Wants You to Have Rewards and Blessings!

1 Peter 1:4: “An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”

Matthew 19:21: “Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.”

Luke 12:33: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.”

Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Hebrews 10:34: “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.”

1Timothy 6:17: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”

Philippians 3:14: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

2 Peter 1:3: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.”

Years ago my Grandpa was in a hospital for a surgery. He shared a room with a man who had a wife, yet he had never seen her before. You see, this man was blind. He was having a surgery done that they hoped would allow him to have sight. The day finally came when the surgery was complete and it was time to uncover his eyes and see if he would have sight and his wife was there to be with her husband during this important time in his life. I’ve often wondered how much this woman must have invested in caring for her blind husband. She must have loved him a great deal. The doctors pulled the covering away and the man cried, “She is so beautiful!” The surgery had worked and he was able to see his wife for the very first time!

In a similar way, we do not always see the things God is storing up for us in heaven. Some of the previous verses tell of blessings He gives us on the earth and some we will not receive until we are with Him in eternity – yet, they are every bit as real! Do we have the faith to invest today as though God really will reward us? By faith we know it’s there now, but one day we will see it, just like the man in the hospital. Remember, Hebrews 11 says to please God we must believe that He is a rewarder – we don’t always see the rewards. I want to live with that faith!

~Brent K.