The Full Assurance of Hope

So Jim, Will, and I were standing around in the kitchen the other day, surveying the wreckage of some great feasting gone wild, and I made the confession that I'm not sure I could be induced to clean up such a mess without knowing it would be noticed and appreciated. Jim said he would, but only for the reward of having a fresh clean palette on which to paint his next culinary masterpiece. Will chimed in with the admission that he is more likely to do something like that for fear that someone might notice he hadn't done it!Each of us, walking in the light, had to assent to the simple fact that selfless altruism alone was probably not going to motivate a single one of us to pick up the towel and clean that kitchen. We came to two conclusions: people's motivations tend to be diverse even when their behaviors (or inactions) are similar, and it must be true that none of us really understands or believes just how great the rewards in heaven will be for thankless acts of service. It's amazing how philosophical men can get while they're busy not cleaning!I like to joke that I only leave nasty jobs to others to give someone else a chance to cash in on all those heavenly rewards. I thought about that as I was digging through gag-worthy bags in our home trash can looking for an expensive AirPod case we had misplaced. (I feel free to tell you about this "act of service" because I assure you I did that for selfish reasons, too!) But if we could truly believe that we will be rewarded for all the secret ways we selflessly serve one another, we might just find ourselves doing these disgusting things more and more, and without feeling the need for immediate approval or reward. We might just be willing to bear the unbearable cost of feeling unseen; unappreciated; invisible. And we might just find ourselves closer to the heart of God, which would alone constitute more than enough compensation."I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!"- Josh