Damned If I Do, Blessed If I Don't

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs”

Matthew 5:10

Not to be confused with Jesus words regarding the Final Judgement in Matthew 25:40 when He says, “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me”. In Matthew 25 Jesus is making it clear there are rewards waiting in heaven for the good things we do in this life. Are you aware there are also rewards for not doing certain things too? Be encouraged today knowing your reward in heaven can be great one day when you stand before Jesus and He says to you, “Well done good and faithful servant. When you didn’t do what you could have done you didn’t do unto Me. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” Stay with me here.

You might be just as confused in heaven one day as you hear the Lord speak those words as you are right now reading them here, and I am sure your response to Jesus on that day will be, “Lord when did I not do what I could have done and how could I have possibly not done it unto you?” Jesus will say things like, “You didn’t respond in anger when you had every right to but you didn’t because of your love for Me” or maybe He will say, “You didn’t strike back when you were struck and I know you didn’t hit back because you were not doing it as unto Me.” I am sure you could come up with a lengthy list all on your own of things you have “not done” and only because of your love and devotion to Jesus.  

Here’s a few more. Have you ever refused to hold a grudge or determined to not withhold forgiveness only for the Lord’s sake? Have you bit your tongue almost to the point of drawing blood to prevent you from saying something you know you would regret later and you knew if you said it you wouldn’t be honoring the Lord? Just know there are rewards for not doing stuff too! How about, have you ever chosen to not keep score when others have hurt you and determined instead to respond the way you believe Jesus would? Have you ever accepted a loss with grace and chosen to not question the goodness of God when going through a difficult trial? That’s what I mean by “not doing it unto Me” as only your commitment to Jesus stopped you from doing what your flesh was wanting desperately to do.  

Jesus said it best when Peter asked Him a question in Matthew 26:27-30, “Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.” We can never lose when we choose Jesus and live our lives as unto Him!


I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

Recent

Archive

 2024

Categories

no categories

Tags

no tags