As unto the Lord

I poured my life into them.
I worshiped with them.
I prayed with them.
I cried and celebrated with them.
I spent many thoughtful hours preparing gifts for them.
I genuinely loved them.
But in the end, I was betrayed by many of them.
My broken heart was confused and indignant. How could this have happened after all I’d done for them? Pouring my life into these ungrateful people now seemed like wasted time and energy. Is there no reward for effort? If I had only known it would turn out like this….

You know what I mean. You’ve been there. I don’t need to tell you who “they” are. “They” can be anyone. Family. Students. A spouse. A congregation. “They” can be friends, co-workers, or an organization.

God’s been there.
Jesus poured His life into people.
He worshiped with them.
He prayed with them.
He cried and celebrated with them.
He spent many thoughtful hours preparing a gift for them. *
He genuinely loved them as no one else could.
But in the end, the majority betrayed Him and killed Him.

Christ’s heart was broken, but not because He was confused or indignant. He didn’t whine, “How could this have happened to me?” He did everything good knowing exactly how it would all turn out. And how did it turn out? After the bloodshed, after the pain and suffering, after having His heart broken from the weight of the world’s sin, He sat at His Father’s side victorious. Mission accomplished. His effort received a priceless reward…Us.

Anything and everything I do for people is wasted time and energy. But anything, everything done for the Lord will be rewarded.

Our priceless reward? Him.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” ~ Colossians 3:23-24

* Think Garden of Gethsemane.

(c) Drewe Llyn Jeffcoat 2009