40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10)
Why? Why should i follow Jesus? Why should I endure persecution and suffering for my faith? At the end of the road, what's in it for me? We do have this tendency toward selfishness and self-fulfillment. What Jesus is talking about here is a receptive trust - not some fanciful gullibility, but a trust in Him as God's messenger, a trust in His prophets as they proclaim repentence and truth, and a trust in those who are right with God. This opennesss of heart is also seen in our looking out and seeing others in need and doing something about them. The rewards here are appropriate. As we look at the prophets of the Old Testament, when widows or others trusted them, they received what they needed - food, sons raised to life, etc. When one receives a "righteous" person, you can be sure they will treat you right. And when one receives Christ, trusts in Him as Savior, and allows Him to come in and change his/her life, the result will be God's Glory - His working out His perfect plan in our lives. Are you willing to trust Him?
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