Begin With End In Mind

In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes that one habit effective people have is that they begin with the end in mind. In other words, they determine where they want to go and then they are intentional about doing the things necessary to get there.

Francis Chan, in his book Crazy Love, has a chapter titled, "Profile of The Lukewarm." In it he describes what a lukewarm Christian looks like. It is quite sobering. He quotes CS Lewis who said, "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

I have been stressing this point to my fourteen year-old son lately. I have been telling him that real men expect the greater reward, God's reward. I explain that men push through their feelings and do what is right, even if it means not getting what they want right now. They are to expect something much, much greater...God's reward.

God does have something much greater for us. In addition to being with Him for eternity, He has rewards for us that He wants to give us for what we have done here (on the Day - notice the capital D in the verse below). Let's look to those rewards which are much greater than any rewards we can receive here.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15