Faithfulness Is Rewarded
1 At Hebrews 11:6 we are told that God “becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.” One way in which he rewards his devoted servants who have been ‘faithful in a few things’ is by ‘appointing them over many things.’ (Matt. 25:23) In other words, Jehovah often rewards good work by giving his faithful witnesses additional privileges of service.
2 The apostle Paul’s faithfulness was rewarded by his being assigned to a ministry that took him into the cities and villages of Europe and Asia Minor. (1 Tim. 1:12) Although much effort was involved in fully accomplishing his ministry, Paul highly esteemed the privilege he had received. (Rom. 11:13; Col. 1:25) He showed his heartfelt appreciation by earnestly looking for opportunities to preach. By his zealous activity, he clearly showed that he was living his faith. His example moves us to treasure our privileges of service.
3 Jehovah Has Given Us a Ministry: How do we show the same view of this privileged reward that Paul showed? We look for ways to increase our share in the ministry. We take advantage of every opportunity to witness informally as well as from door to door. We follow up on all not-at-homes and make return visits on all who are interested. And we keep the appointments we make to conduct home Bible studies.
4 Regarding our ministry, Paul admonished: “Be at it urgently.” (2 Tim. 4:2) Something that is urgent calls for immediate attention. Do we go about our ministry in an urgent fashion, giving it priority in our lives? For example, we would not want to allow our recreational activities and other personal pursuits on the weekend to interfere with the time we ought to devote to the field ministry. Since we are convinced that the end of this system is fast approaching, we are also convinced that preaching the good news of the Kingdom is the most important work we can do.
5 Our faithfulness to God is marked by our being true and loyal to him and constant in the work he has assigned us. Let us fully accomplish our ministry, so that Jehovah will reward our faithfulness in a large way.