Galatians 6:9
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.
Christians are not altruists. Shocking as it sounds, we do not obey God with no thought of reward. On the contrary, we continually look forward to rewards from God and are to do so with great eagerness. It is the pagan philosophy of stoicism, not Christianity, that imagines we are to simply plow ahead, expecting nothing for ourselves and do our duty even if we have no hope of getting anything in return. The reason we are to look for such rewards is not because we are greedy or avaricious, but because Jesus said we should. He constantly promised rewards, expected us to want rewards, and urged us to seek rewards from God. Paul does the same as in today’s verse. But, of course, there are other sorts of rewards, such as the reward a student gets for hard study (a degree and a thorough knowledge of the subject). Here the reward is simply the fruit of the thing the student has truly sought all along, not something alien to it. Likewise, the proper reward for a genuine Lover is marriage to his Beloved and the proper reward for the Christian who seeks God is God. To be sure, God gives many other good gifts along the way and shall glorify us in Christ as he glorified Christ. But these rewards (certain as they are) shall come from the ultimate reward which is participation in the life of the Blessed Trinity. So let us seek our reward with zeal. God not only wants us to want it, he wants to give it. Write down on an index card the words, “Don’t grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we don not lose heart.” Carry the card with you today and read it when you feel weary.
