Our Great Reward

Revelation 22:12
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me...

We so often think in terms of reward or punishment - heaven is the reward, hell is the punishment, and so forth. We hear so much about obedience receiving a great reward, and how we will be blessed. Suddenly our mind bursts forth with all the possible blessings God could have on His platter for us - fame, wealth, power, great children, a great job, etc. However, I don’t think that is our great reward, even the unrighteous have those things.

As Christians, we need to remember that our great reward is in Christ alone. He is our blessing. A relationship with Him - personal, intimate, passionate - is the greatest blessing we could ever receive! That is why we obey, to see Christ revealed. That is why we study, and fast, and pray, and give, and serve, and love, and suffer for His name, and worship - it is not for some tinker-toy prize at the end of the race. No, it is to see God face-to-face, in all His beauty, in all His glory, in all His love. There is nothing more, and who cares about all things less?

We must keep Him as our focus - to see Him, to know Him more than we ever thought possible. That is why we do everything that we do - that is why we wake, that is why we eat, that is why we are Christians, that is why we do all things! If we keep our lives in that perspective, everything falls into its proper and appropriate place, pride and self-focus will fall away, and He will shine before us like never before.