REWARDS (2)                                                               Luke 14:1-14

And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.(v14)

Contd from D238. When you do a worthy deed for a person who cannot repay you: (1) You will be repaid (2)  Your payment will come in the next life (3) When you receive it, you will be blessed.

Certainly, God blesses us here on earth out of His unmerited grace and goodness. God may also give us temporal rewards for right choices or faithful service to Him in the here and now. But the rewards Jesus reveals in this story – and the ones He talks about most – are different. They are God’s guarantee response to a specific action on our part that will continue to affect our lives far into eternity. These rewards come not from asking, but from doing – and not now, but after death. Miss these differences and you set yourself up for disappointment. You’ll find yourself asking questions like these: I serve God in every way I know how, so why is ours family struggling so much financially? Doesn’t God notice or care? Friend, God notices and cares. But He doesn’t promise that work for Him now will always result in gain from Him now.

In fact, the rewards Jesus wanted you and me to know about most do not come now. He said it in His first sermon and He said it again to a roomful of religious  know-it-alls at dinner… His eternal rewards come later, and they began with something you do today. (Bruce Wilkinson)

Meditate on Isaiah 68:8-9 Father, as I praise You, please fulfill Your promise for the rewards for my labour. I will build and inhabit and also touch those in need for Your glory.

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Invite the poor, the maimed, the lame to your feast (Luke 14)