REWARDS OF SERVICE

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 17, 1901

REWARDS OF SERVICE.

From the Testimonies.

(December 22–28.)

“There is no service like his that serves because he loves.”

“We are not to think of reward, but of service; yet kindness shown in this spirit will not fail of its recompense. ‘Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.’ While it is true that God himself is the great reward that embraces every other, the soul receives and enjoys Him only as it becomes assimilated to Him in character. It is as we give ourselves to God for the service of humanity that He gives himself to us.

“No one can give place in his own heart and life for the stream of God’s blessings to flow to others, without receiving in himself a rich reward. The hillsides and plains that furnish a channel for the mountain streams to reach the sea, suffer no loss thereby. That which they give up is repaid a hundredfold. For the stream that goes singing on its way leaves behind its gift of verdure and fruitfulness. The grass on its banks is a fresher green, the trees have a richer verdure, the flowers are more abundant. When the earth lies bare and brown under the summer’s parching heat, a line of verdure marks the river’s course; and the plain that opened her bosom to bear the mountain’s treasure to the sea, is clothed with freshness and beauty,—a witness to the recompense that God’s grace imparts to all who give themselves as a channel for the outflow to the world.

“The work of beneficence is twice blessed. While he that gives to the needy blesses others, he himself is blessed in a still greater degree. The grace of Christ in the soul is developing traits of character that are the opposite of selfishness,—traits that will refine, ennoble, and enrich the life. Acts of kindness performed in secret will bind hearts together, and will draw them closer to the heart of Him from whom every generous impulse springs. The little attentions, the small acts of love and self-sacrifice, that flow out from the life as quietly as the fragrance from a flower,—these constitute no small share of the blessing and happiness of life. And it will be found at last that the denial of self for the good and happiness of others, however humble and uncommended here, is recognized in heaven as the token of our union with Him, the King of glory, who was rich, yet for our sake became poor.

“He who gives increased talents to those who have made a wise improvement of the gifts intrusted to them is pleased to acknowledge the service of His believing people in the Beloved, through whose grace and strength they have wrought. Those who have sought for the development and perfection of Christian character by exercising their faculties in good works, will, in the world to come, reap that which they have sown. The work begun upon earth will reach its consummation in that higher and holier life to endure throughout eternity.

“The Lord desires us to rest in Him without a question as to our measure of reward. When Christ abides in the soul, the thought of reward is not uppermost. This is not the motive that actuates our service. It is true that, in a subordinate sense, we should have respect to the recompense of reward. God desires us to appreciate His promised blessings; but He would not have us eager for rewards, nor feel that for every duty we must receive compensation. We should not be so anxious to gain the reward as to do what is right, irrespective of all gain. Love to God and to our fellow men should be our motive.

“The reward is not of works, lest any man should boast; but it is all of grace. . . . Therefore there is no occasion for one to glory over another, or to grudge against another. No one is privileged above another, nor can any one claim the reward as a right.

“Many are God’s promises to those who minister to His afflicted ones. He says: ‘Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.’ ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.’ Ps. 41: 1–3; 37: 3. ‘Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.’ ‘There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.’ ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again.’ ‘The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.’ Prov. 3: 9, 10; 11: 24; 19: 17; 11: 25. And while much of the fruit of their labor is not apparent in this life, God’s workers have His sure promise of ultimate success.

“The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! ‘I was a sinner,’ it will be said, ‘without God and without hope in the world, and you came to me and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope.’ . . . Others will say: ‘I was a heathen in heathen lands. You left your friends and comfortable home, and came to teach me how to find Jesus, and believe in Him as the only true God. I demolished my idols and worshiped God, and now I see Him face to face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him whom I love.’ . . .

“Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked. ‘When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me,’ they say, ‘to speak words of hope and comfort. You brought me food for my physical necessities, and you opened to me the word of God, awakening me to my spiritual needs.’

“What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed meet and greet those who have had a burden in their behalf! And those who have lived not to please themselves, but to be a blessing to the unfortunate who have so few blessings,—how their hearts will thrill with satisfaction! They will realize the promise, ‘Thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.’”

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the one great reward that embraces every other? What kind of service does it follow?

2. Describe, from the Word, the effect of true service upon temporal affairs.

3. What is the nature of the reward of true beneficence?

4. What relation will the final reward bear to that which the true servant receives day by day?

5. Give as many promises from the Scriptures as you can, relating to the reward, designating the present from the future.