THE REWARD THAT BEATS ALL OTHERS

In the Old Testament book of Genesis 14, verse 1 through Genesis 15, verse 1, we read of an account in the life of the Jewish patriarch Abraham (who is called Abram at the time).

Abram finds out his nephew Lot and his family, who had been living near the city of Sodom, have been taken captive by an invading alliance of kings.  As soon as he hears, Abram gathers together his own fighting men and goes after them.  Greatly outnumbered, but with God’s help, Abram finds and overcomes them, recovering all the stolen goods, and rescuing Lot along with his possessions and people.

After this amazing defeat, the King of Sodom made him an offer many of us would have had difficulty refusing.  He said: 

“Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

As the legitimate conqueror, Abram had every right to the spoils of war and would not have been thought selfish or undeserving had he chosen to accept the King of Sodom’s offer.  But this was his answer:

“I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abraham rich’.  I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me. . . Let them have their share.”

Which of us would have been able to do that, I wonder?  I’m thinking that might have been a lot of material goods.

I’ve often wondered whether Abram ever had second thoughts?  He was already a very wealthy man, but more than that, he had some amazing promises from the Lord that would last far longer than any earthly wealth.  He was well blessed already.  But still. . did he think twice?  We don’t really know.  But we might get a clue to what was going on in his mind at the time when we read what comes next.

Genesis 15:1

“After this, the word of the Lord came to him in a vision:

‘Do not be afraid, Abram,

I am your shield,

your very great reward.’

Maybe Abram was entertaining this thought, “What if those kings decide to take revenge on me?”  I’m thinking he must have been afraid of that very thing, or why would the Lord have said, ‘Do not be afraid, Abraham’?  What else would have made him afraid?

What a comfort it must have been for Abram to hear these words of the Lord:

‘Do not be afraid, I am your shield’

Do you need a shield?

A shield from those mental arrows that cause discouragement, fear, disappointment?  That say, “God has forgotten you.  You’re on your own now, baby.  Where is God when you need Him?”

Well, never doubt it.  He’s right in front of you, using His body as a shield.  He’s your rear guard.  He surrounds you with His FAVOR as with a shield.  He’s given you His Word, the SWORD of the Spirit with which you can renew your mind with His truth.  You can let go of your fear.

Apparently, it wasn’t only fear of retaliation on the mind of Abram.  Was he also wondering whether following the Lord was worth the material and reputational loss?  That would certainly be the “human” way to think.

Whatever Abraham was thinking, how awesome it must have been for him to hear the next thing the Lord said:

“(I am) your very great reward”

In effect the Lord’s word to Abram was this:  “Those whose hope is in me Abraham, will NOT suffer loss.  They will NOT need to feel ashamed for doing so.  They HAVE their reward.  It’s ME!”

These are the very words of Psalm 25, verse 3 where it says:

“No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame.”

In today’s reading from my devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah he says:

“What comes to mind when you think of the word ‘reward’?  Usually it’s a payment of money for finding and returning a lost object. . . . You do something honorable or honest, (as Abram did in rescuing Lot) and you are given money as a reward.

Imagine if you return a lost object and the owner says, ‘Instead of the money, I’ve decided to give you myself as a reward.  You and I are going to be friends forever.’  One can think of all sorts of responses to a reward like that.  But there’s one situation in which that would be the most desirable reward possible – serving Christ in this life and being His friend forever. 

Are you suffering over some earthly loss related to your faith?

Maybe you’ve lost a job over godly moral standards you refuse to compromise. 

Or you’re serving God in missions and making nothing compared to what you could earn in secular work with that degree for which you worked so hard. 

Well, God sees your sacrifice, and if you belong to Jesus, He says to you what He said to Abram:

                                              I AM YOUR VERY GREAT REWARD!                   

Can you think of a greater eternal reward than being the friend of Jesus? I can’t.

When we have Him, what other reward can compare?

The most important consideration though is this:  do you have Him? 

All those other rewards we work so hard for and value so highly – money, position, power, education, influence – one day they will pass away with us, or be passed on to someone else. 

But having Jesus as our reward?  Wow, that one comes with us into eternity, and is enjoyed and valued for, well, eternity! 

If you put all your hope in earthly rewards, you will have pursued a goal that is for this life only.  Putting hope in Jesus gives the promise of an eternity of enjoying Him, the BEST reward there is!