We all enjoy prizes--those tokens of motivation that spur us on to complete the tasks we are attempting. In Proverbs 13, Solomon writes about the pleasure we experience when we accomplish our goals or desires. Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life." Verse 19 says, "A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul."
But there is another prize that far excels all other mere earthly prizes, rewards, or desires. It is the prize of all prizes: Jesus! The greatest thing about heaven will not be our rewards, though they are important. The Bible teaches us about heavenly rewards in 1 Corinthians 3. The most exquisite and glorious reward will be us seeing Jesus. The Apostle Paul gave his all for the Lord and eventually his life when he died as a martyr for the cause of Christ. He tells us that he kept pressing forward toward the goal. The goal for him, and the goal for every follower of Jesus in every generation, is the prize of hearing God call us upward in Christ Jesus.
I like the way the New Living Translation translates Philippians 3:14: "I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." It is a thrill to run earthly races and receive the prize. I don't think I will ever be fast enough to win a big race here on this earth, but that is okay. To have someone place the medal around my neck after a race is so fulfilling. To know I have trained and run my best race, not someone else's race, is reward enough for me. But, can you imagine what will happen on that day of days! God calls us home to be with Him in heaven, we see the saints and angels, and then we see Him, the King of Glory who shed His blood for us on the cross so we could be forgiven and go to heaven. Wow, I get so excited just thinking about it.
Let me encourage you to keep running the race and pressing forward for the prize that awaits you. Yes, the rewards for faithful service to God will be great. Yes, seeing heaven and being with those saints of God who have gone before us and seeing the angels we read about in the Bible will be thrilling indeed. But wait, there is something far greater: the prize, the ultimate reward, the desire of all desires is seeing Jesus. This grand thought motivates me to keep going and serve God with all I have. Our trials on this earth are very momentary compared to an eternity with God in heaven.
Be encouraged child of God by these precious promises from Scripture: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Have a blessed weekend. Keep running the race!
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