A Cup of Water in Eternity

I suppose everyone has something that he is ashamed of. He is sure that God will never let him forget it. He has not allowed himself to forget it. It haunts him again and again no matter how much time has transpired. He will go to the grave with it.

This is not God's desire for any of us. He wants us to know that we are forgiven. He wants us to know that He has forgotten what we have done. He will never bring it up again. He wants us to get over everything we have done. He wants us to accept the Blood of Jesus as payment for our sins.

However, there is something that we have done that He does not forget. He will never let it fade away. It is reserved for us. Everything we do that supports the work of God will not be forgotten. In fact, the reward for our deeds will never be lost.

We do not live in a world in which sacrifice is a virtue. The world thinks that those who serve are merely servants. The world wants to be served at all times. Those few who understand this world know that it is fading away. The rewards it provides will soon be gone. They do not understand that the gold they have here will not have any value in eternity. They do not understand that the sacrifice they have for the gospel will have ultimate value in eternity.

Maybe this is why the world tries to give absolution to its sins rather than forgiveness based on the sacrifice of Christ. Sacrifice has no real place in a hedonistic world. The failure to accept Christ as our Savior results in carrying our sins with us. There is no virtue we have that will cancel our debt. The Blood of Jesus is the only answer for forgiveness.

So, on the one side my debt is canceled. On the other, my sacrifice continues to build an account in eternity.

Do you think that Christians realize this? Do you think they are always beating themselves up for the things they have done and never realizing their sacrifices are being stored for a reward in eternity? Do they know that even a cup of water is not forgotten?

Mark 9:41 (NIV)
⁴¹  I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.