And the reward goes to ...

I must admit that I did watch the last hour or so of the Oscars. To see so many talented individuals being recognized for their talents was rather interesting. Actors of all ages were to walk the infamous red carpet, primped and adjusted prior to the world zooming in on them as they sat and applauded. As cameras panned the audience, for me anyway, it was nice to see seasoned veterans just being themselves. I reminded myself that they are ordinary people like you and I. They just have a different job. As the presenters read scripted intros and jokes, and the recipients each took a few moments to thank everyone, I noticed how much of a hurried assembly line there was in the interest of time. It pretty much went like this. Here’s your trophy, say thank you, exit stage right, and then ... next. Now, don’t get me wrong, they all worked very hard in order to touch the hearts and souls of the public like you and I, so a reward for their efforts is fitting. As I sat listening for God to give me a message for this week, it came to me. You and I are perhaps not so different than these entertainers. We are looking for approval for a job well done. Each of us will spend countless hours and days, and many years learning scripture, you know our dialogue lines. That’s our talk. We will learn to walk our God walk hoping people will notice and follow. Our goal is to be recognized at the end of our season. The approval we strive for is from our Father, God, not the adoring public. There will be no calculation of tickets sold to our life, no media hype, yet along the way there will be unqualified critics. When the curtain falls and our own credits roll, there will not be any handlers or custom designer dresses and suits. Where we are going, there’s more. We’ll walk through gates of pearl, not on red carpet, but on golden stairs. Our trophy will be a room with a view of eternity with Christ. Our presenter will not be a flavour of the week, yet our Father we have been waiting to meet. Our name will not be on a gold plate to fade, yet written in permanent blood in the book of lambs. So, come along for the epic journey of our lifetime. We’ll not hear “... and the award goes to ...” What we will hear is, My reward goes to you my child and faithful servant, well done. I have been waiting all of your life for this moment.