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Paul's Hope of Reward

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 20, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 3.

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Paul's Hope of Reward

By F. M. W.

Viewed from a human standpoint, the apostle Paul had made no small sacrifice for the gospel cause. Brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, a leading member of the most aristocratic sect of the Jews, learned and influential, the world presented to him a promising outlook. But to the mind of the apostle, when all this earthly prospect and glory was weighed in the light of heavenly truth, it appeared worthless. He said: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
His life in gospel work was one of unceasing toil. He was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, suffering perils by land and sea, in the church and among the heathen, under conditions of weariness, hunger, and cold,—all for the sake of the cause of truth. But these experiences, instead of disheartening this brave disciple of the Lord, became his joy; and all because they were done for the one he loved. He said: “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake.”
At the end of his long life of service, when writing from his Roman prison-house to his son in the gospel, it was no spirit of vainglory which prompted him to feel that God had enabled him to wage a successful warfare. He said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
Where now was his reward for this life of toil and sacrifice? Upon what time did his hopes center? When should he receive from God a recognition of his service? Death would bring him release from conflict; but not to the day of his decease did the disciple look for the reward of service. His day of death was the crowning incident of his whole life of martyrdom. His faith spans the little period of cessation from labor; it bridges the gulf which death has made between this life and the life to come. It looks to the day of restitution, to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who “shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
That the apostle looked to this day for his reward is clearly indicated in the words which he addressed to Timothy. He said: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” We have only to refer to the words of Paul to the church of Thessalonica, to find clearly to what day he referred, and at what time the appearing of the Lord Jesus will take place: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:16-18. Read also 1 Cor. 15:51-55.
Paul closed his eyes in sleep nearly two thousand years ago. Since that time the centuries have come and gone. Ages with their ceaseless toil, their long cycles of sin and sorrow, have rolled away. As we scan the page of history and cast our thoughts backward, it seems a long, long time, but when the apostle Paul awakes at the sound of the last trumpet, it will seem as but a moment so far as his consciousness is concerned; it will be as if the moment of death had ushered him into everlasting joy. To the living, it seems like the vigils of the night which we anxiously spend by the bedside of some afflicted loved one. To us who work and wait and watch, it seems that the morning dawn will never break; but to the weary one who falls into restful, unconscious sleep, the night passes as in a moment.
As in the carrying out of life's purposes, we make no account of the hours spent in sleep, the hours of rest when all activity ceases, so God in carrying out his great purpose for the human family, makes no account of the little gulf which death may make. His purpose lives still, whether in darkness or in light, throughout eternal ages. In the Christian's life, death is but an incident, which the purpose of God sweeps aside. Thus it was that the apostle Paul could contemplate the day of his departure as a release from the conflict, as the time when, so far as his consciousness was concerned, he would enter into the eternal reward awaiting the people of God.
This is the star of hope which pierces this earth-night of gloom, the cheering ray which beckons us on. The night of sin will soon be past, the darkness and thraldom of earth will soon be swept away, and in the glorious reign of righteousness will the children of God find the grand fruition of their longing hopes and fondest anticipations. “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” May the prayer of every believing heart be, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
F. M. W.