It's Now Or Later!
"Blessed are those who are persecuted
for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:10
In the seventies, a TV commercial for an
automobile oil filter made this line famous:
“You can pay me now or you can pay me later.”
The same principle, now or later, also applies
to rewards promised to followers of Christ.
Jesus suggested that we have a choice when it comes to rewards:
We can receive rewards now in the form of the adulation of men, or
we can receive rewards in eternity from God who sees what we do
for Him (Colossians 3:23-24). Jesus also said that those who suffer
persecution for His sake receive the Kingdom of heaven, that those
who leave the riches and relationships of this life will be rewarded a
hundred times over in eternity. Sometimes we don’t choose to give
up comfort in life; it is taken from us by persecutors of the Church.
The same promise applies: God stands ready to reward those who
suffer for Christ’s sake in this life. Heaven is a time when rewards
will replace what was lost.
Whatever you lose for Christ’s sake—property,
reputation, comfort, your good name, does not
go unnoticed by God. Nor will it go unrewarded
(Romans 8:18).
"In the second advent [God] will manifest
His glory to reward their faith."
John Chrysostom
