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Foolish people say in their hearts, “There is no God,” and their hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong (Ps 14:1). However, God inspects everything and repays everyone for what they have done.
According to the way of the world as well, everyone is paid back for what they have done. If they give love to others, they will be rewarded for their love someday, and if they do evil, they will be paid back for their evil. Whatever they do, it will always return to them.
Our God came to this earth and did the greatest good for us—He loved us and saved our souls. So, in order to repay God for His love, we are putting forth effort to give love and life to our neighbors. If we do something good, it is always accompanied by happiness and glory. It is because there is God who repays us for our deeds.
We reap what we sow
Once upon a time, there was a rich man. One day, he ordered his servant, “Plant barley in the field this year.” After much thought, however, the servant sowed wheat instead of barley; wheat was something that his master hated the most. When the harvest time came, what he reaped was, of course, wheat.
The master was so angry that he called his servant and rebuked him, saying, “I told you to plant barley. Why did you sow wheat instead of barley?” Then the servant answered, “I planted wheat, hoping that barley would be produced.” The master became even angrier and told him to stop uttering such stupid, absurd words.
Then the servant said.
“Lord, you always do bad things to your neighbors. You oppress them with usury, despise the poor and treat them badly. Although you continuously do all those kinds of evil, you always say, ‘I have to go to heaven after death.’ So, there is no difference between you and me; you’ve continued to do evil things while hoping to go to heaven, and I sowed wheat with the hope that barley would come out. As you want to go to heaven while doing even bad things, so I hoped that barley would grow while planting wheat. However, since I sowed wheat, I ended up reaping wheat as expected.”
Hearing what the wise servant said, the master looked back upon himself and repented a lot.
As we sow, so shall we reap. God brings every deed into judgment, whether it is good or evil, and repays everyone according to their deeds—He pays back evil for evil and good for good.
“Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” Rev 22:11-12
Those who do evil things will certainly be paid back for their evils, and those who do righteous things will surely be rewarded for their righteous deeds. That is why the Bible says that we reap what we sow.
A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal 6:6-9
It is natural that the one who sows to please his or her sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction, and that the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Those who sow with a wicked motive can never receive good things, but those who are conscious of God and the kingdom of heaven and try their hardest to put into practice God’s teachings will receive the crown of righteousness from God sooner or later. God searches our hearts.
A righteous mind and action bring forth good results
This is what happened in the United States. One day, a young man was driving in a hurry to a job interview. After quite a while, he saw a car stopped and a middleaged woman standing beside the car, who looked very nervous and embarrassed.
So he stopped his car, and approached her to ask if there was something wrong with her car. Then the lady said that she suddenly had a flat tire and that she didn’t know what to do. After saying that, she asked him to help her.
There wasn’t enough time; even if he left there right away, he might not be able to arrive on time for the interview. He hesitated for a while, but he could not just pass by the person who was in need of help. So, he first examined her car and then replaced the flat tire with her spare, so she could go on her way. Then he hurriedly drove to the job interview.
When he arrived there, the interview had already finished. He earnestly requested the personnel department of the company to accept his job application, so he was barely able to submit it. Then surprisingly enough, he received a notice that he got the job from the company right then and there.
It turned out that the chief of the personnel department in the company was the lady whom he had helped replace the flat tire just a little while before. Most people seek their own interests first and do not pay attention to other people’s situations or help them. However, he did not just pass by the person who was in a difficult situation, but instead he regarded her difficulty as his own and helped her. That was why the company immediately decided to employ him, considering him to be the truly capable person necessary for the company.
Thus, if we do something righteous with a heart full of righteousness, it is always accompanied by good results. It is the same in our life of faith as well as our earthly life. So, we always need to examine ourselves to see if we are doing well in God’s sight, if we are doing what is right in the eyes of God, and if we are pouring our whole heart, mind and soul into the work of God.
Since the Bible says that we reap what we sow, let us plant good things into our hearts so that we can always obtain good results. The world learns evil, but we have learned righteousness from God. So, we should lead the world by becoming more righteous than people in the world and setting a good ethical and moral example for them.
Mary’s action of respecting Christ with all her heart
If we want to go to heaven, we need faith and action worthy enough to lead us to heaven. Moreover, we have to make our hearts good and pure enough to enter the kingdom of heaven. God surely repays us with good things for all the good deeds that we have done with a good mind.
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” Mt 22:35-38
God says that He will first punish those who do not know God when He executes the Last Judgment (2 Th 1:7-9). In this world, there are people who want to obtain good results while continuing to do evil by deceiving other people and even their conscience because they do not know God. It is just like hoping that barley will grow while planting wheat. However, barley never grows where wheat is sown, even if they hope that barely will come out.
Blessed are those who recognize God and put His will into practice by understanding it correctly. Let’s take a look at a historical case where Jesus’ command—“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”—was completely observed.
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Mt 26:6-13
As a woman poured an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head, the disciples were indignant, saying that the perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor. When we refer to the other Gospels, we can see that the woman who poured the perfume on Jesus was Mary and the disciple who became indignant was Judas Iscariot. The perfume Mary poured over Jesus was worth a year’s wages for an average worker at that time. So Judas, filled with covetousness and greed for money, raised his voice louder than any of the other disciples and complained that she wasted the expensive perfume. Then Jesus stopped the disciples and praised Mary for her action that came from her faith and realization.
Moreover, He said, “Wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told” (Mk 14:3-9; Lk 7:36-50; Jn 12:1-8).
Mary gave Jesus the perfume, thinking to herself, ‘God, who is the Creator of the whole universe and everything in it, came to this earth to save these lowly, worthless sinners. This perfume is nothing compared to His great love for us.’ Jesus praised Mary for her faith—because she loved Him with all her heart, mind and strength, not just because she poured out the expensive perfume on Him.
We need to examine ourselves to see if we love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, just like Mary did. Each of us has a different role in the gospel.
Some of us preach the gospel full-time, and others support the gospel indirectly, trying to volunteer to do things for Zion. As parts of the “body of Christ” (1 Co 12:27), we should devote ourselves fully to our God-given role, no matter what our role is, directing our hearts towards God. If we do it with complaints in our hearts, it is useless and cannot bring forth good fruit.
I know that the members including the pastoral wives prepare food wholeheartedly every Sabbath day, earnestly praying with faith that all those who eat the food will be healthy, both physically and spiritually, so that they can be faithful to God fully enough to enter the kingdom of God. They put their whole heart, mind and soul into the work of God. In this regard, I am sure that what they do is not different from Mary’s action of pouring an alabaster jar of perfume on Jesus.
Zaccheus’ and Abraham’s action of receiving God with joy
Zaccheus received Christ with all his heart and soul as well.
A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10
Zacchaeus was really happy to have Jesus stay at his house, and he promised Him that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and that if he had cheated anybody out of anything, he would pay back four times the amount. This was the best action for him to take to prove that he loved God with all his heart, mind and strength, and Jesus gladly accepted his sincere heart.
Why do you think these past occurrences are written down in the Bible? God was pleased with the faith and actions of those people who loved Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and He gave them the blessing of salvation. If we sow good, righteousness, honesty, faith and passion for God, we will surely receive the results of our deeds. There are so many accidents which sometimes cause people to lose all that they have stored up for themselves in this world. However, everything we have done for God will return to us without fail; God will repay us even countless times over. So, those who devote themselves to the work of God are truly the wisest and most intelligent people in the world.
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” So Abraham hurried … then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said. Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year …” Ge 18:1-10
Here we can see the scene of Abraham serving God wholeheartedly. Like that, all the forefathers of faith devoted their whole heart, mind and soul to God. God was pleased by their gracious deeds and gave them great rewards and blessings.
Blessings of heaven given to those who boast about God
To love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, we have to take action.
The Bible says that if we love God, we should first obey God’s commands and then boast about God (Jn 14:15; 21:15-17). If we truly love God, our hearts will be filled with burning fervor to boast about God to whomever we meet.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Ps 20:7
I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever… . Ps 44:6-8
If you love someone, you will boast about him or her to your family, relatives or friends. You will probably feel like telling them everything about the person you love—his or her personality, appearance, height, way of speaking, and so on.
Likewise, if we love God, it is natural that we continuously boast about God—how wonderful and awesome our God is. If we feel awkward or timid about telling other people about God, we need to examine our love for God.
David boasted about God every day, and God complimented him, saying, “A man after My own heart.” The fact that he boasted about God before people all day long is proof that he loved God so deeply in his heart. The book of Psalms describes very well David’s heart of love for God.
I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Ps 34:1-9
When we tell people about God and boast about Him before them, the people whose hearts are weary will listen to our message and come to God, so that they will also rejoice in hope together. Brothers and sisters in Zion! Let us follow the will of God fully with our whole heart, mind and soul, boasting about God every day, just like David did.
God repays us according to our deeds; He rewards us with righteous things if we do right, and pays us back with bad things if we do wrong. Whatever we sow, that shall we reap. So, if we want to go to the kingdom of heaven, we must sow good deeds worthy enough to enter heaven. If we hope to go to heaven while continuing to do worldly things, it is no different than hoping barley to grow in the field while planting wheat there.
Wouldn’t you like to sow the seeds of heaven diligently every day, looking forward to the eternal kingdom of heaven? Let us devote all our heart, mind and soul to the work of God. I earnestly ask you all to possess a true inner beauty as well by doing good deeds before God who looks at our hearts.