Lesson One • Giving to Those in Need
Devotion 5: Heavenly Rewards
Pastor John Carter
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4
Have you ever done something in secret? If we are 100% honest, we would admit that most of the things we do in secret we do because we are too ashamed for them to be revealed to the world. I love how Jesus flips everything upside down in this aspect of giving to the needy. While normally doing something amazing and kind, like giving to the needy, is something that we would not even care if it was known, Jesus tells us to keep it secret. In fact, the things we are inclined to keep secret because we are ashamed, Jesus tells us to confess them! This whole scenario seems backward. Keep secret the good things, but confess the things we want to hide.
He continues to articulate the reward of doing such things as being heavenly rewards from the Father. This week we have been walking through Matthew 6:1-4. Take a moment and read the passage.
Matthew 6:1-4 says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
It starts with this idea of practicing our righteousness before other people, and it ends with rewards that the Father will give us. I want to go back to James and look at what he is teaching us about the contrasting ideas of Heaven and Earth.
James 3:17-18 adds, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Pay particular attention to verse 18 and the “harvest of righteousness.” The harvest can also be the reward. When we are striving for heavenly rewards, we see the importance of how God works. I love that James includes the concept of sowing in peace. In Matthew, Jesus is talking about how we give in secret and the reward comes from the “Father who sees in secret.”
Ask yourself this, “How am I sowing peace today?” It is hard to sow anything in peace if you do not have any peace to begin with. When our hearts’ motives are examined and we are walking in the way of our Heavenly Father, there is a peace that “surpasses all understanding” we as believers get to experience.
Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
While Jesus is walking us through our motive of giving to the needy, take this moment and ask yourself if you have made peace with God, who sees in secret. I started by asking you if you have ever done anything in secret. Most of the time we do those things in secret because we are ashamed. Have you considered that nothing is secret to God and Jesus? The ultimate reward we can receive is the gift of being with God forever and having the acceptance and recognition of our Heavenly Father.
If you are a believer and you are reading this devotion, consider the awesome blessing and reward of the Father we have received in His Son, Jesus. He is the One who knows all the secret things and yet chooses to take the cross on our behalf. If you are reading this and struggling to find peace, not really sure if there is a reward for walking in the way of the Lord, can I encourage you to just talk to God (He knows it all)? He knows all the secrets of life, both good and bad. Take some time to talk to Him and confess the things you are ashamed of. Receive the reward of peace that comes from being in a relationship with God.