Revelation 22:12

“Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to repay each person according to what he has done.” Revelation 22:12.

This can be a very exciting verse or a very scary verse depending on what you do or don’t do. Yes, it’s about action and doing in the kingdom. Some of you may get your feathers ruffled a bit by this devotion because the Christian community has downplayed and all but “poo-pooed” works.

I’m not talking about salvation and grace, I am talking about works. Now some of you might want to consider that even though you are saved by grace through faith, faith without works is dead! James 2:14-17. Have you ever heard the saying “the proof is in the pudding?” James, the brother of Jesus said, “I will show you faith from my works.” James 2:18. The truth is, we live what we believe. Your life will reflect the impact that Jesus Christ has had on you.

Once you are saved, that’s when the journey begins. First it’s salvation, and then a life of obedience. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His creations, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” Christians weren’t just meant to be believers, but “doers of the word!” James 1:22.

Christianity isn’t easy believe-ism. The Bible says, “the demons believe and tremble.” James 2:19. It’s not about what you believe but what you do with it that counts. In the verse from Revelation we are called to action and Jesus Christ himself is saying in this verse he is coming back and will repay us for what we have done.

He is handing out rewards when he returns. I want one. How about you? He says the rewards are according to what you have done. We will not all get the same reward. Hmm. So what makes the difference? Is there a way to distinguish?

Lets look at the context of this verse.

The preceding verse talks about the “righteous going on in righteousness” and the “unrighteous go on in unrighteousness.” Rev. 22:11. Then the following verse says “those who’s robes are washed may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.” Rev. 22:14. However, there are those who will remain outside. Who are they? They are the “sorcerers, sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying” Rev. 22:15.

These are not my words, my friends. These are the very words of Christ. What you do matters. How you live your life makes a difference. Countless times in the scripture we are told to do something, obey something, refrain from something, keep something, die to something and live for something. These aren’t suggestions and God made sure they were in his word for a purpose.

Jesus is going to come a second time. That is for sure and for certain. Jesus tells us to look! That is such a powerful statement. When we are looking and watching for his return we are reminded of the imminence of that return. We remain on our toes and stay vigilant because we don’t want to be caught off guard. It keeps us accountable for our actions.

So here are my two questions for you:

1. Are you looking for his return?
2. If Christ came today would you be happy with him paying you the reward of what you are doing today?

Take time today to get alone with God and meditate on his word. Ask yourself the hard questions and let God speak to you in the silence. Then when he speaks take action. Be a doer of God’s word!