THINK TOGETHER
Have you ever joined something and as a result received “rewards?” (maybe like a fan club or parents, how many “rewards” cards do you have from grocery stores, etc.)
READ TOGETHER
When you trust in Jesus and become a Christian you now have access to some of the greatest “rewards” in the universe. Not because you earned them, but simply because you “signed up” for them. Like when your mom and dad sign up for the rewards card at the grocery store, or drug store, or restaurant. Of course we these cards you have to spend money in order to get the rewards. But not with God’s rewards. He gives us all the rewards of Jesus simply by trusting in him.
Listen to how Paul describes our rewards here in Romans 5. How many rewards can you hear?
Romans 5:1-5. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Reward #1: Peace with God.
This is huge. God is never, ever going to be your enemy. He will always be your friend. In Jesus you have peace with God forever. He will never hold a grudge against you. He will never keep a list of your sins. He will never be angry at you. He is your best friend who loves you no matter what.
Reward #2: Standing in grace.
No matter what we do we live and stand in God’s grace. We are always forgiven. Always loved. Always being guided. We are always God’s favorite person. In Jesus we are never outside of God’s grace.
Reward #3: Hope of the glory of God.
Hope is when you look forward to something that you KNOW will happen. What are you looking forward to today? Looking forward to things is what makes life good. And with Jesus we can always look forward to something – the ultimate something – being in Heaves with God.
Reward #4: Rejoicing in suffering.
Wait what? Suffering is a reward?
No.
Rejoicing IN suffering is a reward. As Christians we don’t rejoice FOR our suffering and hurts (that would be weird and wrong). But we can rejoice IN our suffering and hurts. Why? Because we can know that God will use our hard times to make us more like Jesus. More hopeful. More faithful. And mostly more compassionate and loving.
Because of Jesus we have all his same rewards.
With Jesus we can live each day in the peace, grace, and hope of Jesus even rejoicing in our hardest times.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Remind your children that Jesus’ rewards are not earned but received by faith. Jesus earned them FOR US.
The OT story of David and Goliath illustrates how one hero (David) can earn the reward for the whole group (Israel). Here’s a fun version of the story to watch:
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
You have shared all your rewards with me. Help me to trust in your peace and grace today.
Amen.
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