Reward in heaven

When a person gets saved by repenting of his sins and placing his faith in Jesus, his spiritual heart is circumcised by the Holy Spirit, and he becomes a child of God forever. There is nothing he can ever do to lose his salvation, and he can do whatever he wants on this planet. However, what remains to be seen is whether or not he will receive a reward when he gets to heaven, and if he does receive a reward, how great will it be.

Jesus clearly teaches that there will be a hierarchy in the Kingdom of Heaven, and that our reward will be based upon how we live our lives in this world. He says in Revelation 22:12, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." Jesus will be the king in the Kingdom of Heaven, and there will be various levels below him. Some people will receive a handsome reward and will have a high position in the Kingdom of Heaven. Some people will receive a smaller reward and will have a modest position in the Kingdom of Heaven. And some people will lose their reward and will have a low position in the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone whose heart is circumcised by the Holy Spirit will make it into the Kingdom of Heaven, but not everyone will receive a reward when they get there. Jesus discusses these principles in various places in the four gospels, one of the clearest examples being the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke19:12-27).

So what matters most in life is not how much money you have or how much prestige you have or where you are right now. What matters most in life is where you end up. Will you be wealthy in this life, but then not make it into heaven? Or will you have prestige in this life, but then lose your reward when you get to heaven? What matters most in life is that you end up in heaven and that you receive some kind of reward, whether it be large or small, when you get there. Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So what will the Kingdom of Heaven be like? It will be a thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth that will take place after Jesus' second coming. He will sit on a throne in Jerusalem and run the earth the way it was meant to be run. It will be a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Those who receive a reward in his Kingdom will have various positions of leadership within the Kingdom. In the Parable of the Ten Minas, one person's reward was to be in charge of ten cities, and another person's reward was to be in charge of five cities. Jesus will hand out the positions of leadership in his Kingdom the way he sees fit. Some people will have high positions within his Kingdom, and some people will have low positions within his Kingdom. Everyone whose heart gets circumcised in this life will participate in the Kingdom, but not everyone will be rewarded with a position of leadership when they get there.

Another perk that everyone who receives a reward will get to experience is the great banquet that will take place at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. All of the saints who are being rewarded from all time will be there. This includes people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Noah, Job, Daniel, Matthew, Peter, and John, to name a few. Imagine having dinner with great men of God like these. Jesus will host the banquet, and it will be a great time of fellowship with God's people. It will be a celebration of our lives lived successfully for God, and of His surpassing greatness and His goodness. No one in their right mind would want to miss out on this banquet.

After the glorious thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth, God's people will enter the New Jerusalem. This will be a 2.7 billion cubic mile city (Revelation 21:16) that will come down from heaven from God and will be the eternal dwelling place of God and his people. It will be the paradise of paradises, and we will be enjoying God and Jesus and all of God’s people for ever and ever. No one who is there will ever get tired of being there – not even after 1 billion years. We will never have to worry about anything ever again, because God will take care of us in every way. And there will be no end to the things that we learn, to the friendships that we make, and to the happiness that we will experience forevermore. What a tremendous ultimate reward it will be to dwell with the God of all creation for all eternity.

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