Rewards

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

REWARDS

Matt 10:40-42

40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

NIV

This seems to be a slightly difficult saying of Jesus to see a personal implication. Certainly, we would believe as we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we accepted God as well. Accepting God also means we accept everything in the bible as he has said all scripture is God-breathed.

2 Tim 3:15-17

 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

NIV

Therefore that means something in this saying of Jesus is, in fact, useful to us, either to teach us, rebuke us, correct us or train us in righteousness. Yet it also means that in accepting Jesus and thus God we accept the precepts of God, all of them. This means we cannot pick and choose which we are going to live by and which we are not. This requires thought as to whether we have taken some of the truth of God and left some of it behind to adopt or continue to practice some of the rules of this world. Jesus goes on to take about prophets, yet the Greek word used here implies an inspired speaker. This could apply to those who minister in the name of our Lord, such as pastors and evangelists. We remember Jesus was sending his disciples into all the towns to preach the gospel and this may have been spoken to the crowds to know how to host his disciples. But it also applies to us today in giving due respect to those who have spent their lives, dedicated their lives to ministering in the name of Jesus. This also implies that their reward for ministering full time in the name of Jesus is no greater than those of us who receive or respect them. We will all receive the same reward. This agrees with the character of God in that he shows no favoritism. The righteous man Jesus talks about is the innocent or holy man. This could again speak of ministers but also can imply all Christians as we are all called to be holy because he is holy, or set apart, or different, in the sense of being rendered innocent by God because we accepted Jesus.

Rom 3:22-25

There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

NIV

That word justified in Greek it means to be regarded as just or innocent. So then in that sense, we are the righteous the holy men and women and thus we should accept each other with honor and respect. This would imply that we do no harm to each other, we do not speak ill of another brother or sister in Christ, spread rumors, gossip, or any other many of disrespect, keeping any confidential matters shared with us confidential. As to the cup of cold water, we might not see much of a meaning for us today as it was customary in those days for righteous men to take water on hot days and stand on the roadside to offer a cold drink to those weary travelers passing by. Our scholars believe by using the term, “Little ones”, Jesus was referring to his disciples and thus they were going to be the travelers without coin, bag, or extra coat and would need a cup of cold water as they traveled from town to town. But it could also imply that we offer a cup of cold water as well. This could mean being hospitable, not merely to each other, but to the weary traveler. This might mean the poor among us. Those poor individuals who stand along the road at an intersection holding a sign, “Homeless, need food” or something of that effect. Sometimes we can think poorly of them, thinking of them as scam artists who have a home. But how do we know? Perhaps we are to just offer a cup of cold water, whatever that means to each of us.

Heb 13:2

2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

NIV

Living the life of a believer has more to it than the safety of our own souls. There are interactions with others which demand certain attitudes and behaviors. Let us live not just for ourselves but for the benefit of those lives we encounter and certainly, we will receive our just reward.