Will God reward us in lfe for good deeds or should we wait for heaven?
My Grandma would say in Heaven. The Bible says the following about rewards in Heaven.
Matthew 5:11-16
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The Similes of Salt and Light. “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 6:2-4 goes on to say:
“When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Colossians 3:23-24
“Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord as a reward; be servants of the Lord Christ.”
1 Corinthians 3:9-14
“For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a reward.”
Matthew 16:24-27
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory (see also Revelation 22:12), and then he will reward everyone according to his conduct.’”
Our main reward is the gift of spending eternity with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (God) forever in Heaven. This is a gift that we do not earn on our own (Ephesioans 2:8-9), but by our cooperation with His grace.
I believe that if/when we are in God’s beatific presence, we will not be concerned with receiving more or less than another. Hopefully we are purged of such attitudes prior to entering Heaven. Amen ♱
Agreed but it is awfully hard here on earth when it seems like God is rewarding everyone else but not you with happy families or good health etc
I get it. In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15), I sometimes identify with the older son. Pope Benedict wrote about The Prodigal Father. And now that I am a father myself, this speaks to me. I have two daughters and they are not the same. My oldest is a lot like me (a rule follower). My younger daughter is more rebellious. I love them both. God loves us like a father loves all of his children.
It sounds like you are struggling with what is sometimes referred to as “the problem of evil” or “the problem of suffering.” God’s permissible will vs. God’s active will.
God does not actively will for your life to be worse than someone else’s. Sometimes it is a bi-product of choices another makes. My Dad was an alcoholic. He would become abusive when he gave into his temptations/addictions.
Sometimes we perceive other families or individuals as having a perfect life, but there is no such thing as a perfect life. You do not know what others, who externally appear to have everything together, are dealing with behind the façade.
When I was a teenager, I gravitated towards this new family that had moved into town. They went to our Church, were very active in our Youth Group, and I thought they were the perfect family. I got to know them pretty well and loved going over to their home (they had a really nice house on top of hill, overlooking a beautiful view). But, what I did not know was that the Wife began cheating on her husband, which led to a divorce. Their son started drinking and doing drugs. Their oldest daughter (who was stunning) wound up getting pregnant her senior year of High School. Their youngest daughter was pretty young and thankfully turned to sports.
The Word of God has a lot to say about jealousy and envy, in addition to the Ninth & Tenth Commandments (Exodus 20:17):
James 3:16
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.”
1 Corinthians 3:3
“For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”
1 Corinthians 13:4
“…Love does not envy…”
Romans 13:13
“Let us walk properly… not in quarreling and jealousy.”
Ecclesiastes 4:4
“…envy…also is vanity…”
James 4:6
“Do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy’? But He bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”
1 Corinthians 1:27-29
“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
Psalm 25:4-5
“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
1 Peter 4:8
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
God is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 32:16; Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14). However, God’s jealousy is based in love (John 3:16).
Of course it makes it difficult when you see those who lead godless lives “succeeding” more than us but our goal is not in this life, it is in the next life.
It also makes it harder to see the blessings we have right in front of us when we are looking elsewhere.
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About seeing our blessings...
This is a great point.