Relationships, Rules, and Rewards

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Matthew 5:5

One of the great themes of the Bible is God’s desire for you to have a relationship with him by faith. Every person who turns away from his sin and trusts God for salvation has a relationship with God. In that relationship, he learns the rules of how to live in a way that pleases God and the rewards of living by faith. The relationship always comes before the rules and the rewards.

Think about Abraham. Abraham was an idolater, which means he worshiped something or someone other than the true God. God called Abraham to turn away from his sin and trust God. As Abraham followed God by faith, he learned the rules and received the rewards of living by faith. His descendants—the people of Israel—called these rewards their inheritance. God gave them a big family, a beautiful homeland, and a big responsibility, namely to show all the nations who the true God is. 

Two thousand years after Abraham lived, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came into the world with the express purpose of making a permanent way for people to have a relationship with God by faith. He did so by dying on the cross and rising from the grave. Those who trust in Christ and follow his leading have a relationship with God. As they follow Christ, they learn how to live in a way that pleases God, such as being humble or meek, and the benefit of living by faith. Just as Abraham was promised a beautiful country, the promise that meek shall inherit the earth is God’s assurance that those who trust in him will live with him forever in the eternal home he has prepared for those who love him.

Father, thank you for wanting a relationship with me and making a way for me to live with you forever.