REWARD
Today's reading: Genesis 13-15

"Afterward the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great." Genesis 15:1 NLT

Reward-something that is given in return for good or evil done or received or that is offered or given for some service or attainment.

When I think of a reward, I think of a gold star for excellence, a certificate for participation, a medal for sportsmanship, a plaque signifying a commitment.

I also think of stickers. Yes, peel off the page and put them somewhere else, stickers.

The kind Mrs. Murphy always had. The kind she kept in large binders. The kind she had in large binders separated by season, holiday or topic. The kind of stickers Mrs. Murphy would give me for each and every piano lesson I completed.

My piano lesson book had a sticker on every page.

The stickers were simple rewards she handed out to acknowledge my attempts, my practice and my participation.

So when I read about the 'reward' God was promising Abram, really, I'm stumped...how could anything Abram could do or did, ever be enough to deserve what all God promised him?

The protection? The land? The name? The blessings? The pages of history? The honor? The love?

According to the Hebrew lexicon, the word reward we use today in this verse, refers to wages.

So this reward was truly Abram's paycheck for faith.

AND WE CAN HAVE ONE, TOO!

God grants us the same promises. The same blessings are ours to believe Him for. The same faith of Abram can be ours. We can walk through the lands He has given us, deal with the people He places us around, worship Him only, trust Him for however long He asks us to trust Him, believe Him for it all and one day receive compensation for having the faith He asks us to have.

What better reward might there be?