In his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), Jesus warned, “Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (6:1). He applied this to such matters as giving of alms (vv. 2–4), praying (vv. 5–15), and fasting (vv. 16–18). In addressing these important maters (what we might call “spiritual disciplines”), Jesus repeatedly referred to the consequences of God-centred acts as “rewards.” Yes, when we walk with and worship and work for the Lord, we can expect gracious fruit—in one form or another—as the Lord sovereignly responds. As the writer to the Hebrews points out, when properly motivated (i.e. by faith) our good deeds please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6). That of course is reward enough, and yet it seems clear that Jesus expected that the Father will reward worshipful service in other ways as well, such as answered prayer. Regardless, what we might call “religious duties” receive a reward. The underlying challenge, however, is staying focused on God as our audience when lured to make others the focus of our attention. In the case of the latter, our works will receive a reward, but merely a temporal, man-centred one. For instance, if we give alms to be seen of men rather than by God, our reward will be a mere earthly one of narcissistic praise (6:2–3). The same is true both of prayer (vv. 5–6), and of fasting (vv. 16–18).
To summarise, the Big Idea of the passage is that Christians must learn to live before the audience of one: our triune God. I joyfully witnessed such God-centred service this week.
Our Holiday Bible Club and Teens for Christ ministries have been a wonderful blessing to those who attended. We have had a good number of children and, I believe, a record-setting attendance among the teens. The gospel seed has been both planted and watered and I am praying for God to give the reward of growth (1 Corinthians 3:6). But, of course, these ministries did not fall from the sky; rather, they came about because of servant-hearted church members who made it possible. And I am probably right in assuming that the majority of the congregation was unaware of who was doing what. That is not a criticism of the church but rather a commendation of these workers.
Early each morning, these servants came to the church, organised the eats, listened to memory verses, corralled children, taught lessons, went hoarse screaming with (not at!) the children during the games. And they did this with their right hand not knowing what their left hand was doing (v. 3). That is, they did so with no thought to the applause of others but rather they served before the audience of one. And great will be their reward.
These kinds of ministries can sometimes seem like a thankless task. When ministering in settings like this, one wonders how much of the word is penetrating hearts and how much is merely rolling off like water on a duck’s back. But the Lord knows. Over the years, I have heard several testify of the gospel impact of these ministries. Further, mentoring relationships arise from what is often a hidden ministry. Surely these are great rewards from our heavenly Father.
I have written in order to publicly thank the many who privately served this week. And I know that I speak for the church when I say, may God bless you for your sacrificial, loving labour. Your reward awaits you, including the eventual greeting, “Well done, my faithful servant.”
Openly grateful for those who “secretly” served,
Doug