Ps 91:16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
Rewards are complicated. We want rewards. We work hard for them and sometimes do things we shouldn’t to receive them. And what happens when we get the new car, promotion or great vacation, do we thank God and appreciate it as we should? Without realizing it, we can fall into the snare of Satan. He wants us to believe that we deserve everything the world has to offer. That dream of living “the life” of wealth and glamor should be ours. We deserve to do whatever it takes to reach our personal or professional goals. “The end justifies the means” or does it?
As Christians we learn to pray about everything and trust God will lead us to the right path. As a mother I felt I never knew the right answers to the dilemmas of life, but I prayed for guidance and my children survived my ignorance. The outcome of daily and hourly decisions I made in the NICU were completely unknown until that baby was able to go home. Praying for someone’s health or financial needs and seeing them blessed is wonderful, but is that the only reward?
As I mature and grow older, I see that living a long life well lived for Christ and obtaining his salvation is the ultimate reward. Knowing I am only a visitor in this life opens my eyes to all the possibilities of heaven. No, I don’t want to go anytime soon, but the reward of heaven is my final goal. Nothing Satan gives as rewards can justify loosing heaven.
Jena Kleinpeter 