Rewards are a way of life and most people enjoy receiving them. Children get rewarded with lollipops for enduring the sting of vaccinations. Some health insurance companies encourage exercise with the promise of reduced rates. The US government encourages whistleblowers to report corporate violators with an incentive - if the government wins its case against the company, the whistleblower gets some of the resulting fines that are paid.
In many ways, God is no different. He also has rewards available for people. Like the businesses and governments of this world that reward certain behaviors, God enjoys acknowledging those who honor and obey Him. His rewards, however, are not limited to money and are much more long-lasting in their impact.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God is a rewarder of those who sincerely seek Him and Ruth's story bears this out. She chose to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, saying, "Your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). With those words, she left her homeland, Moab, and went to Israel, where Naomi steered her toward Boaz whom she eventually married.
When they met, Boaz spoke to her and expressed how impressed he was that she would leave her family to care for Naomi who had lost her husband and two sons. He said a blessing over her in Ruth 2:12 - May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
And rewarded she was. In due course, Ruth went from being a poor widow to a woman of means. But even more important than this, by choosing to make Naomi's God hers, she became the great-grandmother of King David. She therefore was also an ancestor of Jesus Christ. A foreign widow became an integral part of the history of Israel and that of Jesus Christ. To this day, her story remains an inspiration to many. Her experience teaches that anyone's life can be transformed instantly when they choose the Almighty God as their God.
Ruth is but one example of many in the Bible. There are also testimonies in this day and age of people who chose God and were well-rewarded. God ensures that those who elect to serve Him don't end up the losers for doing so. Sure, their journey to success may have twists and turns - all part of strengthening and training them - but they will receive a great reward in the end. The key is to fully commit and choose to stay with Him no matter what (Matthew 24:13). And no, such individuals do not have to wait until they reach heaven to enjoy God's benefits. He is in the business of caring for people when they are very much alive with heaven as the ultimate reward and destination.
These rewards include turning lives around, healing, protection from harm, miracles, and much more. They require full commitment to come to pass. Ruth faithfully obeyed everything her mother-in-law told her to do. Similarly, we have to be faithful in obedience to what God instructs when we choose Him. Ruth had to submit to Naomi's knowledge on different issues. Imagine if she had determined that she knew better and ignored the counsel of her mother-in-law. We too cannot veer from God's word. We must neither ignore what Jesus taught nor dismiss what the Holy Spirit tells us. As we move in discipline, obedience, patience, and submission, we begin to see the promised fullness of God at work in our lives.
There are other avenues to God's rewards and we will consider them during our next few gatherings. The aim of these messages is not to make anyone think the Lord is only good for what they can receive from Him. Instead, the goal is to encourage believers that He has good things coming their way as they continue to choose Him. This series of messages is to remind all who are waiting on the Lord that He has not called people to follow Him in vain. May the good Lord open our minds to understand the scriptures and the lessons He desires to impart to us as we grow in the word and the knowledge of His steadfast character, IJN, Amen.
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Cause I've built my life on Jesus
He will never let me down
He's faithful in every season
So why would He fail now?
He won't