Love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. Luke 6:35 (RSV)
Lids of soda bottles, backs of cereal boxes and register receipts reveal reward codes. To win a year's supply of soda, beaucoup boxes of cereal, free hamburgers, or free hams, consumers must take time to go on-line or mail in the code.
Why bother? Often it's the wonderful feeling of winning--having a dream fulfilled. What a great party a small group could have! The local food pantry would be surprised to get all that cereal. What fun to go about bragging to friends or giving them soda caps! How wonderful to drink free sodas! A hamburger tastes so much better when it saves a dab of money. Forget the initial monetary cost. Forget the time used to get that free, temporal reward. Winning and bragging. That's the thing.
However, when Jesus offers a spiritual reward, winning becomes a given, not a possibility because He already paid the cost, the sacrifice of His life. What then is the problem? Why is it so hard for me to make the mental commitment or conscious efforts to love, do good, or lend--especially since Jesus offers the guaranteed reward of being the son of the Most High?
Logically, it should be easy to abandon the hope of winning temporal rewards and reach towards the hope of eternal rewards. In reality, it' snot. Turn to Him. That's my only hope of winning. He can and will change the inside of me, stand beside me, show the way, and help. And that is winning indeed!
Lord, this day, stand beside us, show us the way, and help uss. Amen.
(c) 2015 V. Colclasure
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