Reward

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Caught Being Good

While in kindergarten at Jones Elementary, they started a program called, “Caught being good.” If teachers noticed you being good, you would get an award. The awards were slips of paper, and if you received multiple awards, you could trade them in for prizes. As a first child rule follower, I was excited about this easy chance of winning a prize.

I could hardly contain myself the day my teacher handed me my first award. That afternoon I got off the school bus and ran into the home of my mom’s godparents, where I spent every day after school. I opened the door and yelled, “I got an a-wart, I got an a-wart.”

My mom’s godfather, Bob, always wearing his denim overalls, came to greet me and ask me about my excitement. Again, I said, “I got an a-wart Bob.” With confusion written all over his face, he asked me to show him. I unzipped my strawberry shortcake back pack and with more fervor than before I pulled out my slip of paper and said, “See Bob, I got my first a-wart.”

When Bob laughed, it was a good deep belly laugh, and that is just what he did right then. He said now Jennifer, with much love in his eyes, “That is an award, not an a-wart.”

He loved my new word and shared it with the neighbors as they came by for their afternoon visit, and to my dad when he picked me up. I was still living high on my first recognition of good behavior. That day instilled in me how good it feels to be rewarded.

We all love acknowledgment and rewards. Whether big or small, it always feels good to get noticed and told that you did something well. Getting rewards as a kid being good or as an adult getting credit cards points and air miles, we all love to get rewarded.

As a side note, the day after writing this post I went to one school I work at and checked my mail. In each mailbox was a pack of blue tickets. I asked what they were tickets for and they said for if you catch a student with good behavior you can give them a ticket to earn prizes. I love when God gives His subtle nudges of letting me know I am on the right track with what I am writing.

Reward

Through advent we have looked at active waiting. Waiting with expectancy, preparing while we wait, and the comfort God gives us in the waiting. This week we are going to look at the beautiful reward we get for waiting.

The Jews were waiting for a Messiah and many of them, because of their expectations, missed Him. Jesus came for the Gentiles and the Jews. He came as that precious baby in the manger, and He died a horrific death on a cross, so we could receive the reward of salvation no matter who we are.

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:22-24 NLT

The Second Coming

Just as the Jews waited for Jesus’s first coming, we now wait for His second coming. As we approach the celebration of His birth, I challenge you to think of the hope the Jewish people had for Christ’s first coming. Do you have a similar anticipation for His second coming? How can we actively wait for this glorious moment? Let’s look at what scripture tells us.

“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.”

Luke 12:35-38 NLT

Waiting With Fervency

Whether we are waiting for something in the here and now or waiting for His return, we can wait with fervency.

The scripture says to dress for service and keep your lamps burning. I think of what it says in Ephesians 6:10-19, to cloth yourself in the armor of God. When we wear His armor, we are ready and equipped for whatever may come our way. When we live like this, the light of Jesus shines bright to those around us.

The Armor Of God

To live clothed in the armor of God means we are in the word. The belt of truth is around our waist and the sword, which is the word, is in our hand. Everything we need has already been written to us.

We wear the breastplate of righteousness. We stand righteous, living our finest, giving our best effort, to live a life pleasing to God. With our feet fitted for readiness, we are ready for whatever God calls us to do, and go where He calls us to go.

We carry a shield, meaning we live in a way to protect ourselves against the enemy’s schemes. Remaining in the word and the power of prayer gives us what we need to protect ourselves. Lastly, we must have on the helmet of salvation. Knowing and believing who Jesus is.

Be Ready

Luke continues to tell us to always be ready. When we actively have on the armor, we are ready. We know whose we are and our hearts are open to His calling. When He knocks, we are ready to receive and to follow His direction.

Rewards will come to those who live this way. When Christ returns, we will be ready to meet Him. None of us know the hour or the day, so we must be ready at all times.

Now to apply this to our every day waiting. It is kind of like waiting for a job. We cannot sit back and wait for an employer to call and offer us a position. To apply, we must actively wait. We have to fill out an application and resume and then send it in. We must dress nice and go in for an interview. Sometimes we need to prepare and research the business before we interview. The applicants that are prepared and present themselves well are the ones often selected.

For all moments of waiting, we can replicate this. We seek God’s guidance, dress in the armor of God, and be ready for whatever the Lord calls us to do.

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