Romans 2:10

Honor and glory have always seemed to me to be empty words all by themselves. Yet it becomes altogether a different story when considering who is giving the recognition.

One year when I was in grade school we were given 2 math tests close together. The first one I knew affected our math grade for the entire year. The second was presented as a contest with the prize being some kind of math puzzle book. It was very important to me to maintain a good grade, so I worked hard on the first test and finished in second place among my classmates. But I had no interest whatsoever in the prize offered for the second and I didn't understand somehow that the students with the top scores for both tests would be presented and honored before the whole school. My grade on that second test was nowhere near my grade for the first; the honor of having passed at the top of my class for a math exam that didn't affect my grade in anyway whatsoever simply didn't appeal to me. It was kind of funny actually when the teachers honored those with the top grades: in every single class except ours the top three grades for both sets of tests was one combination or another of the same three students. They almost didn't know what to make of the fact that I was invited onto the stage for a grade in the first test that was only 1 point or less below that of the top student, yet wasn't even a contender for the top three positions for the second test. The honor for the second test simply didn't motivate me.

Can you imagine how good it would feel to be honored by the Lord? The prize isn't a little puzzle book and a round of applause from your grade school. The prize is greater joy than you've ever known, everlasting life, surrounded by people who love you better than you've ever been loved before. But the honor itself is worth all sacrifices you may have to make along the way. Imagine: the Creator, the Messiah, the Lord of the universe, looking you in the eyes and honoring you for your service. That is an honor worth receiving.