For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love,
which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister (Hebrews 6:10).
Everything you do or sacrifice for the sake of the
gospel is not only recorded (Malachi 3:16), the
Lord also rewards you for it. This brings to mind Peter’s
encounter with the Lord by the lake of Gennesaret: “And
it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to
hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen
were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And
he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and
prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land.
And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship”
(Luke 5:1-3).
Peter and his company had just returned from a
fruitless all-night fishing expedition. So his decision to oblige
the Master the use of his boat wasn’t an easy one; he had
to jettison his disappointment and exhaustion in order to
help the Master propagate His message. The Bible lets us
know that after Jesus preached to the crowd from Peter’s
boat, He asked Peter to launch out into the deep for a
great catch. Peter obeyed and caught a great multitude of
fishes such that he had to call out to his partners to help
him haul in the great catch (Luke 5:6-7). Now, he had toiled
all-night and caught nothing. But suddenly he had so much,
just because he decided to help the Master. What a miracle!
What sacrifices have you made for the sake of the
gospel? It could be your time, money, family, friends and relationships you gave up, whatever it is, God hasn’t
forgotten. Your blessing isn’t deferred until you get to
heaven. It begins here on earth: “And Jesus answered and
said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left
house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he
shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last first” (Mark
10:29-31).
Peter didn’t receive his harvest of fishes in heaven, he
got it on earth. Therefore, your reward isn’t far ahead; its
closer than you think, be confidently assured that He’ll
reward you in due time, for He doesn’t forget your labour
of love!
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that
is working in my life mightily. Now I know that my
services in the Kingdom are not in vain! Therefore
with renewed vigour and commitment, I pledge
myself today for greater service in the house of God,
and passionately seek the expansion of your
Kingdom, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
