“…store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” --Jesus, Matthew 6:20 (NIV)

Once, when our daughter was 7, she was reluctant to perform her violin solo at a recital. I gently tried to cajole her, but with no success. Quickly sizing up the situation, Traci maneuvered her body between me and our daughter, whispered a few words in her ear, and our daughter promptly jumped off her chair and onto the stage to perform her piece with no lack of energy. I was obviously curious what Traci said. She later revealed that she promised her ice cream for her cooperation, a choice I would have resisted if I’d known. My concern was that the reward defeated what we wanted to instill in our daughter.

So, how do rewards fit into God’s plan for his children? Jesus was pretty explicit that God rewards. In fact, he used the word reward 13 times in Matt. 5 and 6. In Matt. 6 He pointed out the kind of life God does not reward by naming several pious practices that some in the Jewish culture routinely flaunted outwardly. The list included charitable giving (v2), praying (v5), and fasting (v16). Jesus called these ostentatious expressions of pious action “storing up treasure on earth” (6:19), and He said about those who performed them that the attention they had received was their reward (6.5). Of course, these are good actions that can be expressions of love and devotion to God, and Jesus claimed that these actions, done in secret (6:4, 6, 17-18), would indicate sincerity as opposed to status seeking.

By contrast Jesus said to “store up treasure in heaven” (6:20). In this statement, Jesus is not only verifying that God rewards, but he’s commanding us to seek them. If you’re curious about what “storing up treasure in heaven” looks like, here’s a partial list, found in Matt.5, of what Jesus might have had in mind: turning the other cheek; going the extra mile; giving another one’s cloak; loving one’s enemies; and praying for those who despitefully use us. In chapter 6, in addition to acts of piety done in secret (vv 1-18), he added trusting God for one’s provision instead of worrying over how we might obtain them (v 25), and in chapter 7, He instructed us to resist judging others (v 1).

Even though we can infer from Jesus’s message what kind of action qualifies as “storing up treasure in heaven”, He did not tell us what the treasure is. We have to examine some other New Testament writings to gain perspective on that question.

Speaking to the Elders of the churches in his first letter, Peter described a glory they would share that would be revealed later as a result of exhibiting a leadership that was not conducted for dishonest financial gain but instead included a heart to serve others. This kind of leadership was to take place while eagerly awaiting the Chief Shepherd’s appearance, at which time they would receive a crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Peter 5:1-4). Peter seems to be saying that this crown of glory is the treasure and that sacrificial leadership that puts those being led ahead of oneself is the way for Elders to lay up treasures in heaven.

In Philippians 3, Paul spoke of how his conversion resulted in seeing his religious achievements (self- effort for self-gain) as rubbish (vv.7-8). The grace and favor of Christ had so changed his heart that what he wanted most was to know Christ and to live according to His lifestyle, which included the fellowship of His sufferings (v. 10). Paul exhorted the Philippians to do the same. He warned them against the “enemies of the cross” whose god is their stomachs (self-indulgence) because their minds were set on earthly things (vv. 18-19). Meanwhile we who embrace the life of self-sacrifice await our heavenly reward, the transformation of our bodies to be like His glorious body (v.21).

Both Peter and Paul seem to be on the same page, each stating that following Christ’s example of self- sacrificial love will result in the receiving of a glorious body (reward).

Jesus said to His Father in prayer, “   I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17.22 NIV). Theologians don’t agree on what Jesus means here, but they do agree that it includes the embodying of God’s glorious Spirit by His followers. According to Paul, we have become containers of His glorious Spirit (2 Cor. 4:7). In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul said that “we carry around in our body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also may be shown” (4.10 NIV). Paul is using the phrase, “carry around in our body the dying of Jesus,” as a metaphor to describe the self-sacrificing lifestyle Jesus has called us to. He points out, at the same time, that our motivation for this lifestyle is the life of Jesus (His glory) being revealed through our self-sacrifice.

So, what compels Christians to live a self-sacrificial obedience to God? Having placed His glory (Spirit) in us, the motivation must include a desire to reveal our glorious God, and we will reveal Him and His glory to the extent that we embrace the cost of self-sacrifice and reject our self-gratifying desires. In a very counter-intuitive way, our self-sacrifice also becomes the reward.

I’ve changed my perspective on rewarding 7 year olds with ice cream. My daughter is now 37 and has become a highly responsible mother of two, devoted wife, business owner, military officer and nurse. She’s quite amazing, but I’m not sure how much credit to give that ice cream motivated violin performance.