Strength in the Hope of the Promised Reward
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35–36, NKJV).
The Christian life is one lived for something greater than us. Bible scholars speak of missio Dei, Latin for “mission of God,” which is often associated with the work of the church. However, this divine mission should also be considered in the more expansive context of the purpose of God for the creation, the placement of man over earthly affairs, and the calling of some to be special agents for the execution of that purpose (Ephesians 1:3–9). The Christian life is one of participation in this purpose of God.
As the apostle Paul wrote, “For we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Elsewhere, he used the expression “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador is someone who represents the interest of his superior or commissioner in a particular domain. He is an agent of the mission of his constituency at his station. The Christian is an ambassador of Christ, who is the human revelation of God (Colossians 1:15, 2:9; Hebrews 1:1–3). We are representatives and agents of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
As ambassadors of God through Christ, we are not free to pursue our own interests but the interest of God in Christ. It is God who equips us with all that we have in the world, and he expects us to utilize them in his service (2 Corinthians 5:15). This does not imply an abandonment of self or initiative but the need for Christ-mindedness and a heavenly perspective in all things. It requires conscious effort to know and do the will of God. It is not always easy, and it sometimes requires personal sacrifice, but we have the promise that, after we have done the will of God, we will receive a reward (Hebrews 10:35–36).
Awareness of the promised reward was what gave Christ added strength to make the ultimate sacrifice, which opened the way for our higher participation in the mission of God. Scripture tells us, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). It should be the same with us. The promised reward should be an incentive — not the motivation — for us to invest ourselves in the service of Christ and the work of his church.
Critics have questioned the validity of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, arguing that the claim of his return to life means he sacrificed nothing. This is one of many errors that result from attempting to interpret the Bible apart from the Bible. Integral to the idea of biblical sacrifice are the concepts of recognition, gratitude, and trust. We offer sacrifice to God because we recognize that he is worthy; our sacrifice is an act of gratitude for what he has done for us; and as we present our sacrifice, we trust that he will give us more. In other words, biblical sacrifice is closely associated with an expectation of greater things (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6), even as Christ resurrected to a “more excellent ministry” (Hebrews 8:6).
A life committed to the mission of God is a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1–2). But it is a sacrifice offered with the hope of a greater reward. It is the “living hope” to which we have been called, “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away” (1 Peter 1:3–5). Nothing we give up for this calling can compare with what we will receive in return, for “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man. The things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9; see also 2 Corinthians 4:17).
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