Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! —Matthew 25:23
Did you know that Jesus was motivated by reward? I hear people say, “Don’t talk to me about reward. I don’t want reward; I don’t want recognition. I am just a humble servant of God. I am going to do it because it is right.” By saying such things you are trying to upstage Jesus. And I marvel at this. Jesus as a man was motivated by reward.
He knew there was joy out there, and He was waiting for it. He knew too that He would get it then, not now.
For, you see, the reward is not here below. Sometimes God does reward us on earth. He can do it, but if that is your motive, then again it is not right. The reward that motivated Jesus was that which was beyond this life, and He was willing to wait until He got to heaven. And this mind of Christ, the motivation of Jesus, was waiting for the reward in heaven.
Do we know what kind of reward it will be? Well, I cannot be sure; this matter of reward is a great mystery to me.
I do not know whether it is a literal crown that Paul spoke of receiving (2 Tim. 4:8). I do not know, but I suspect the grandest moment of all would just be to hear Jesus say, as we find in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, “Well done.” I want that “Well done.” I cannot imagine anything greater than that. I will do anything I know to get it.
Excerpted from Meekness and Majesty (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1992, 2000).
