Love’s Rewards

“But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.*
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” -I Corinthians 2:9-10. (*quoting Isaiah 64:4.) [NKJV]

Love’s rewards are manifold. We who were fortunate to grow up in a home with parents who loved and nurtured us had a strong foundation in love.

In community is love. Extended family of siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins bring fond remembrances of love in action. Neighbors and friends must be added to this list of love-giving and learning to love in return.

In spiritual fellowship, the church, love is the theme. With upbringing in the church, early in life we learned the simple-sounding by deeply-profound truth, “God is love.” Thus was formed the basis of our belief system that grew into our own way of perceiving God as our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as the loving sacrifice for our salvation.

If we were fortunate enough to have a good marriage, with spouse, children, grandchildren (and if we live long enough, great grandchildren) to love, and who reciprocate our love, we are most blessed. In the home is expressed and lived out the depth of earthly love. Commitment, responsibility, and joys of family love are their own rewards. How much difference they make in giving us a rich life!

Yet the depths of love’s rewards are yet to be revealed. Love continues. We have not yet seen nor heard what God has in store for those who love Him. Love’s journey is not over until we rest eternally in the place prepared for those who love and serve God.

Love is deeper than the ocean, higher than the sky. God is love and the Rewarder of those who love. Maybe you received an e-mail entitled “A Beautiful Parable.” The story was told of three old men outside a home whom the good wife invited in so that she could feed them. They would not enter because her husband was not yet home. When he came, his wife told him about the strangers. He told her to invite them in. She went again to the old men and asked them in. “But we do not go together,” they said. Our names are Wealth, Success and Love. Decide which one you want to invite in, and he can come into your home. The husband and wife conferred. He wanted to ask Wealth to be their guest. The wife wanted Success to come in. But their daughter-in-law said, “Why don’t we invite Love? It will be good to have love in our home. So the good wife went back outside and invited Love to be their house guest. He got up to follow her, and immediately Success and Wealth got up and began to enter the house, too. “But I thought you told me you would not go in together,” the wife said. “Oh, but you wisely invited me in,” Love replied. “And where Love is, Wealth and Success will also abide.”

This parable shows that Love is paramount to any relationship, whether in family, community, church or on the journey to Heaven. Love’s rewards are more numerous than we can ever imagine, including Wealth and Success, for Love conquers all, and with the love of God in our heart, we cannot fail, and we certainly will be rewarded.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Tuesday February 2, 2010