“He’s gone to his eternal reward.”

Sounds great, doesn’t it?  The phrase is mentally soothing. . .emotionally comforting and spiritually authoritative.

The phrase is the religious way of saying that someone has gone to heaven.

I am not minimizing the ultimate reward we receive as a born-again Child of God. . .the privilege, honor and blessing of being able to spend eternity in His presence.  In fact, I’m blessed beyond measure to be going.

However, there are seven reasons why our reward is more than a one-way trip to heaven.

1.      If you give to or do for others. . .you will be paid for it. . .that’s your immediate reward.

Mark 9:41 says:

Sometime back I remember reading what I thought was a well-reasoned article on decision making.

After a couple of paragraphs. . .I knew the writer was either a hamburger short of a happy meal or he was having a bad day when he wrote the article.

If that seems harsh. . .consider his suggestion on how you should make a MAJOR decision.

The author suggested the readers write out all their choices, put them in a hat and draw out one. He then said … if you’re disappointed in the selection you know one of the other ones is the right choice. The author encouraged people to repeat the process until they found the right decision.

Now in fairness. . .let me say, if you’re choosing a restaurant…I don’t have a problem with that method…but not a decision that affects your family, career or life goals is a different matter.

By then, I knew I had to write “Making Decisions. . .God’s Way.” In a rapid fire order. . .God gave me the seven keys and a week later directed me to finish the teaching.

On August 30, 2017 while riding in the car with her Mom, Abby. . .Sophia Lee PreJean, our most precious Grand Sugar at two years of age, was recorded saying. . .

“I am wise

I am kind

I am gracious

I am strong

I am loving”

Then with an Academy Award winning smile. . .Sophia would say it again.

Needless to say my fine wife Bev and I watched that video over and over again.

Not only was the video cute. . .but it was instilling in Sophia. . .a set of beliefs that will serve her well all the days of her life.

If I had a penny for every time someone said to me. . . “the enemy is just trying to hold me down” or “my circumstances are holding me back”. . .I would be able to pay for my dream trip of two weeks in Bora Bora.

When people say that to me my usual response is. . .you know. . .you’re right. . and I don’t want to know your circumstances.

Dictionary.com defines circumstances as:

“a condition, detail, part, or attribute, with respect to time, place, manner, agent, etc., that accompanies, determines, or modifies a fact or event; a modifying or influencing factor”

Spiritually speaking. . .I define circumstance as the circle you’re standing in.

We shouldn’t be standing still. . .we should be moving from glory unto glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

In which case, we would be leaving our circumstances behind.

So for me. . .the question is why do I want to hear about what the person ought to be leaving behind.

Every time someone painstakingly reviews, renews and refreshes their circumstances they are forcing themselves to live them again.

We don’t need to revive our current dilemma . . .we need to seek answers. . .ways to rise above our circumstances. . .whatever they may be.