Earthly & Heavenly Rewards

In the Matthew chapter 19:16-30, Jesus tells us what we must do to inherit eternal life. A young man approaches Christ and asks Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him basically the Ten Commandments to which the young man responds that he is already doing that. Christ then tells him, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that though hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” (verse 21) It is quite clear that the young man does not do what Christ had told him. He walked away sad because he had many possessions. He obviously loved his possessions more than he loved Christ. Jesus goes on to tell us that if we give up everything and follow Him, He will bless us. He tells us that with God anything is possible.  He tells us that if we forsake all and follow him we will be judges of the twelve tribes of Israel, we will receive a hundredfold and the most important thing, we shall inherit eternal life.

                Peter asked the Lord, “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” Christ told him about being a judge, the hundredfold and eternal life. We can apply this in our own lives. There are things in our own lives that can get in the way of our eternal progression. Like the young man, it might be our possessions. It might be sinning. There is a huge list of downfalls that can grab hold of us. If we remain strong and put our faith in the Lord, He will not leave us. He will bless us for our faith and good works. I believe when Christ said, “With men this is impossible; but with God al things are possible.” (verse 26)

Parable of the Laborers 

The Hour Laborers were Hired	How much the man agreed to Pay	Hours Worked	How much they were actually paid
Early Morning	A penny a day	All day.	A penny.
3rd Hour	“Whatsoever is right I will give you.”	All day.	A penny.
6th Hour	“Whatsoever is right I will give you.”	Half a day.	A penny.
9th Hour	“Whatsoever is right I will give you.”	Quarter of the day.	A penny.
11th Hour	“Whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.”	One hour.	A penny.

“So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many are called, but few chosen.” (Matt. 20:16)

From this parable of the laborers we can learn so much. The first thing to be learned is that we all have the same reward. Like the laborers all received we one penny, we all know what the Savior has for us if we forsake all and come unto Him. He has promised us all the same. The second thing that can be learned is that while others might have served longer, the ones that have served for a while will receive the same. This makes it where we are all equal, which is nice. Converts to the church can take this parable and find comfort in the fact that while they might not have been in the church as long as someone else, they can still have the same reward in heaven if they obey the words of Christ. For those that think this unfair I would say that if you think about it logically it does. The Savior would not punish someone for not being the church all their lives. They deserve the same as someone that has been in the church their whole lives. The Lord is no respecter of persons and He does not honor one more than the other. If we are all doing what we need to do and follow the words of the Savior it is only fair and just that we receive the same.