Why are we trying hard? Who are we striving for?
When we win victories in our daily, worldly life, we enjoy applause, honors.
In the spiritual life everything is for the glory of God; we do not spend good deeds for ourselves to be praised, but it is our good deeds that show how much we honor God.
The church is the place where we praise, praise and worship God. We come to church when we are tired and want to freak out at home, but the call of the Lord to spread His splendor and to serve Him is stronger than our weariness. We grow beyond ourselves in seeking to honor God.
In the competition the winners get medals, gold, silver, bronze.
In the spiritual life, the golden rewards are the gifts we obtain in the Holy Spirit. What we do with love and without expectation of praise is for the Lord. We do what pleases the Lord, not to earn praise, but to testify to the glory of God.
The woman who anointed the Lord’s feet with oil did this out of love for the Lord; she did not pay attention to the material value of the oil and the alabaster bowl from which the oil flowed, but her deed was done in honor and out of love for the Lord.
If someone does something to be praised for it, it is not in God’s mind. We should do our deeds selflessly and without ulterior motives. The glory is not in saying, “Lord, Lord,” but by our deeds we are measured.
If we take care of people who are not believers, our endeavors will be like the hay – it has no seeds and perishes in the wind and rain.
The church lives on earth, the Lord gives us his words – in the Bible. The Lord’s Tribunal calls all to receive the fruits of their labor – their deeds in life. Be it gold, silver, copper, wood, straw …
Corinthians 3: 12-15 – The Church stands united to see at the tribunal what each of us has accomplished. Christ is the cornerstone, we, his church, are the bricks that work to build his glory. The 4 Gospels are the word of Christ, we, his Church, are the “5th Gospel”
Our fruits 1: proclaim for the eyes
2. proclaim to the ears
The man who proclaims the truth speaks the words of the Lord. Witnesses of God’s grace are not just the fruits of our labor, but everything we do during the 14 hours of the day. When we radiate our light and our love, we testify to the love of God, we are light, we radiate the goodness of God. A person who is a servant of God shows the unbeliever the glory of the Lord.
Paul preached to the Corinthians, showed them what the “body of Christ”, the church, means. For God it is not important that we are the first in a race, the marathon is the same for God for everyone, everyone can reach the goal, whether they run fast or slow. It is important not to lose courage, to stick with it, not to get out, everyone who arrives will be rewarded.
Let us not be proud if we think we have done something better than others. We don’t win gold and silver for ourselves, but for the glory of God. The road is stony, we are shaped and bent in the power and grace of God. Even when the wind blows hard and we begin to sway, our roots must be firmly anchored in the earth, anchored in Christ, so that we are not swept away. When our works burn up, if our works were only straw, then we see that we stand before God empty-handed. But the Lord also sends the purifying fire that sets us free from our evil deeds. Always remember that we do not do good deeds to get applause, but do them for the glory of God.