My Great Reward

Abraham is one of my favorite Bible characters.  He walked a very long journey of faith.   God made very great promises to him:  2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 

As great as those promises were, they were NOT Abraham’s “great reward.”  His great reward was the person of God – walking with and being a friend of God.  Abraham enjoyed many earthly blessings.  He had a beautiful wife (Gen 12:11), many servants and was wealthy: “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Gen. 13:2).  “Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels” (Gen. 12:16). 

Abraham’s life is a very important example for all of us.  God promised him, “descendants … as numerous as the stars in the sky.”  Though God may generously bless us in many ways on the earth, none of those promises are our ultimate treasure.  HE is our ultimate treasure.  

If I get too focussed on the promises of things God is planning for me, I become very disappointed.  Accomplishing goals or attaining possession or even having special relationships will ultimately disappoint us if they are our ultimate treasure.   If we make idols of earthly blessings, in the long run they will fail to satisfy us. 

I encourage you to enjoy friendship with God today and every day.  Don’t forget that God is at your side, in your heart, above you and below you and behind you and before you.  In a way, it’s not so much what you do in life as Who you do it with that counts.

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