When I was a kid, I loved taking part in competitions and winning awards. It helped validate my efforts and prove that I could succeed. And, when I received the awards in the context of my time as a student at a Christian school, those episodes served as opportunities to hear affirmation and encouragement from fellow students as well as teachers, administrators, and my parents.
When we get to heaven, we’ll be recognized by our Heavenly Father for what we did for Him in our lives here on earth. And I don’t believe any award on earth — whether we’re talking about a school award or the Pulitzer Prize (I’ve not achieved that one!) — can possibly compete with receiving recognition from Almighty God Himself!
The apostle Paul also speaks about heavenly rewards in his letters to the Corinthians and the Colossians. To the church in Corinth, he wrote:
“If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (I Corinthians 3:14-15, KJV)
This passage teaches that our works on earth will be tested by fire, and those that are found to be good will be rewarded. To the church in Colossae, Paul wrote:
“Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24, KJV)
This verse encourages us to do everything we do for the glory of God, knowing that He will reward us for our faithfulness. And then there is what is likely Paul’s last letter (or, at least, the last one that he wrote which was preserved and canonized):
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (II Timothy 4:7-8, KV)
These are just a few of the many Bible verses that speak about heavenly rewards.
The Bible is clear that all those whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be saved (see Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, and Revelation 20:15). Whose names are in that Book? Answer: Those who have sincerely and genuinely confessed Christ as Lord and who trust He is who He said He is (see Romans 10:9-10).
So, if you are truly saved, you get to go to heaven. But…
What will it feel like if you get to heaven and receive no reward otherwise? What if you have no crown or reward to throw at Jesus’ feet (see Revelation 4:10-11)?
I love fantasy novels, and so (obviously) I enjoy and deeply respect Lewis’s iconic Chronicles of Narnia series. And Lewis offers a glimpse of a believer having no reward in a brief aside in Prince Caspian, part of his Narnia series.
The scene takes place toward the beginning of the story just as the Pevensie children (Lewis’s protagonists) are whisked back to Narnia — only, this time, many years after the events of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Well, it’s only one year in Earth time but many years in Narnia time.
They are exploring the ruins of what turns out to be the castle they once ruled from. (You have to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to understand that). They soon come across the gifts they received during that ordeal, only one of them doesn’t have gifts. Here’s how Lewis explains it in Prince Caspian:
“We must take the gifts,” said Peter. For long ago at a Christmas in Narnia he and Susan and Lucy had been given certain presents which they valued more than their whole kingdom. Edmund had had no gift because he was not with them at the time. (This was his own fault, and you can read about it in the other book).”
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
That other book, of course, is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. You see, Edmund had briefly consorted with the witch and, while he was ultimately redeemed by Aslan (Narnia’s version of Jesus) and thus saved (though at great cost to Aslan), he missed out on the gifts his siblings received.
Don’t miss out on the gifts God wants to give you. Don’t miss out on the work He has prepared for you. Don’t miss out on the race He wants you to run.
God bless you.
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