Biblical Facts about Rewards, Part 2
by Charles R. Swindoll

1 Corinthians 3:10–14

Based on 1 Corinthians 3:10–14, I see three facts about our eternal rewards for serving God. Let's review the first two facts I mentioned yesterday, and then I'll complete the list with the third.

First, most rewards are received in heaven, not on earth.

Second, all rewards are based on quality, not quantity.

Third, no reward that is postponed will be forgotten. Make no mistake about it, the Bible clearly teaches that each of us "will receive a reward" (1 Corinthians 3:14). God doesn't settle His accounts at the end of every day. Nor does He close out His books toward the end of everyone's life. No, not then.

But be assured, fellow servant, when that day in eternity dawns, when time shall be no more on this earth, no act of serving others be it well known or unknown by others will be forgotten.

A nineteenth-century senator, Benjamin Hill, spoke with eloquence when he made this fitting tribute to General Robert E. Lee (a great man with a servant's spirit):

He was a foe without hate, a friend without treachery, a soldier without cruelty, and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices, a private citizen without wrong, a neighbor without reproach, a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guilt. He was Caesar without his ambition, Frederick without his tyranny, Napoleon without his selfishness, and Washington without his reward.1

And the marvelous part of it all is that you don't have to be a Robert E. Lee to be remembered. You don't have to be a courageous soldier in battle or a statesman who graciously accepts defeat. You can be a "nobody" in the eyes of this world, and your faithful God will, someday, reward your every act of servanthood. Rewards may be postponed, but they will not be forgotten forever.

Unlike many people today, God keeps His promises.

Even a "nobody" in this world God will reward for every act of servanthood. —Chuck Swindoll Tweet This

Adapted from Improving Your Serve: The Art of Unselfish Living, Copyright © 1981 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.