So, someone performs surprisingly well. The
audience sits in stunned silence, and then erupts in spontaneous applause. The prize?
“You get to go to Las Vegas!”
All over the world, nameless people struggle
through the circumstances of life. They are often despised and rejected of men,
just like their Savior. No one sees them give Jesus food, or a cup of cold
water. No one sees them welcoming the stranger, or clothing the naked, or
visiting the sick, or coming to those in prison.
People mock them for waiting for a “coming”
that has still not taken place. They are mistreated and persecuted without any
sign of God coming to their rescue. They lose jobs, miss promotions, experience
rejection from family, friend, and foe alike. They live like strangers in a
foreign land even when living in the land of their birth.
And, while enduring all manner of earthly
disappointments and heartaches, often bearing a grief all the more intense for
the fact of the new heart that Jesus has given them, what is the prize awaiting
those who are so hated by the world?
The prize is to know God; to live in the
glory of our Savior forever, to dwell in the presence of fullness of joy, with
the pleasures of God at his right hand forevermore.
And, while such people know they will never
perform before their holy Father in such a way to surprise him with their exceptional
talent, they know, with humble confidence, that the faithfulness of their faith
in Jesus Christ will most certainly receive the praise of their Master
announcing, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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