“The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.”
(1Cor 3:8 NIV)
Labor: 2873. Œ?·??œÄŒøœÇ kopos, kop¬¥-os; from 2875; a cut, i.e. (by analogy) toil (as reducing the strength), literally or figuratively; by implication, pains: ‚Äî labour, + trouble, weariness.
all of the workers are of one purpose, of one point, and each one will be rewarded according to his own labor. I think because of the pharisees pompous attitude that God owed them I have always shied away from the idea of getting paid by GOd or Him giving me anything else. But He IS!
in Rev 22:12 it says He is coming and His reward is with Him. In Rev 19 it says that the beautiful bride of Jesus is dressed in all of our righteous deeds that he prepared in advance for us to do.
So He saved us when we didn’t deserve it, and then He pours out on us things for us to do, so that He can reward us (that seems like such a funny word in light of grace) for the things we did.
HOW GREAT IS HIS LOVE FOR US! I think about setting up things for my kids to do just so I can pour gifts on them for doing them, even though I was making up the work for them to do anyway. I could do it myself and it would be done better and faster, and I could keep all my presents for myself, but instead God invites us in on it, entrusts it to our incompetent care, and then gives us presents and blessings for doing it worse than He Himself would!
Here is the root word of that word, labor, pains, toil:
2875. Œ?·??œÄœÑœâ kopto, kop¬¥-to; a primary verb; to ‚Äúchop‚Äù; specially, to beat the breast in grief: ‚Äî cut down, lament, mourn, (be-)wail. Compare the base of 5114.
Wow. That isn’t fun. That doesn’t sound like nice and easy youth group games spirituality! Maybe if we compare it to 5114 like it says.
5114. œÑŒøŒº·??œÑŒµœÅŒøœÇ tomoteros, tom-o¬¥-ter-os; comparative of a derivative of the primary œÑ·??ŒºŒ?œâ temno (to cut; more comprehensive or decisive than 2875, as if by a single stroke; whereas that implies repeated blows, like hacking); more keen: ‚Äî sharper.
oh, so each person will be rewarded according to his/her labor, and that labor is rooted in chopping, cutting down, lamenting, mourning, not with a single blow or a single stroke but by repeated blows. Repeated hacks. I can relate to that.
Each person will be rewarded according to their repeated hacks in their watering and planting. What is so encouraging to me isn’t the reward. It’s that the reward doesn’t come for those that the world has taught me it comes for. The reward is for the losers. Jesus really did come for losers, and He STAYS with the losers even if the losers STAY losers. Perfect haired pastors of 40,000 people can keep smiling and ministries can boast in their accomplishments, and Jesus might even be in their midst. But the Bible says that Jesus is more likely sitting near a pile of sawdust and wood chips than piles of trophies and gold medals.