God Is My Treasure: The Reward That Surpasses All Earthly Riches
- Jack Selcher
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Rewards motivate us to toil and sweat to receive them. I studied hard in college to be accepted into a highly regarded graduate school so I could earn an advanced degree and qualify for a good-paying job. The last part didn’t happen. Life doesn’t always work out as we plan.
Becoming a pastor hadn’t been part of my initial vision. Saying most pastors in my denomination had “good-paying jobs” would likely be part of a joke. But God provided financially in an unexpected way.
My wife is a college graduate who has worked since she graduated. This year we will celebrate our fiftieth anniversary. She earned more money than I have every year of our marriage, and most years, the race wasn’t even close.
Marrying her is my reward! But not my greatest reward or yours, if you are a Christian.
Christians can identify with God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 15:1. But first, let’s review the backstory.
Abram’s nephew, Lot, was living in Sodom. While there, four kings attacked and took the goods and food of the city and captured Lot and all he possessed.
Abram and 318 others he recruited rushed to rescue Lot and routed those attacking forces. Abram recovered all the goods the four kings had stolen, including Lot’s possessions and many captives.
“The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered’” (Genesis 14:21 NIV).
Abram refused to keep the goods because he didn’t want the king of Sodom to say that he made him rich (Genesis 14:23). A pagan king wouldn’t be the source of his blessings.
“Some time later, 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).
God promised to be Abram’s king and to be his very great reward. Let’s think about God being our great reward. It’s an unimaginably wonderful gift.
Instead of owning all the gold in the world, it is far better to know Him who made it and can speak one hundred times more into existence in an eyeblink.
It is wonderful if the world’s kindest person is our best friend, but better by far if our best friend is the one who died on the cross for the world’s kindest person.
It is great to enjoy all the benefits of artificial intelligence, realizing some of its answers are wrong, but infinitely better to know the one who knows everything about everything.
Jesus is the sure foundation for our times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge (Isaiah 33:6). All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him (Colossians 2:3). God is my treasure.
Moses chose disgrace for His sake as more valuable than all the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:26).
As night follows day, our hearts follow what we consider supremely worthy (Matthew 6:21). What could be a greater reward than Jesus? Rhea F. Miller left no doubt that Jesus was her treasure:
1 I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I'd rather be His than have riches untold; I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
2 I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause; I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause; I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame. I'd rather be true to His holy name
3 He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom. He's sweeter than honey from out the comb; He's all that my hungering spirit needs. I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead.1 See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com
God has empowered me to write “His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength.” It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship eBook. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 14,172 people. I invite you to explore it.
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