Winning the Reward

 "Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward." 2 John 8

Losers and winners are terms we are all familiar with, but ones that we don't see too often in the Bible.  Are you interested in the full reward?  Or would you be content to lose the reward that John talks about in the above passage.  John did not want his readers to lose sight of what he had worked so hard for on their behalf.  What he had worked so hard to do is teach them to follow Christ and obey His commands (see v. 6).  Think about what we worked for this summer.  What were the things the ministry of SB2W worked hard to instill in you?  There are many, but here are just a handful:

1. God First - that Jesus Christ is Lord and is the most important thing in life. 

2. The Glory Goes to God - the competition field is a place to worship/honor God with how you play, with your attitude, with your response to winning or losing, and with the words that come from your mouth.
3. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 - We have failed and do fail, in epic proportions, to live in ways that honor God.
4.  I'm Third - We must submit ourselves to God and accept what Christ accomplished for us, receiving from God undeserved grace so that we might live in right relationship with Him and with others.

Like John we were concerned to teach you to follow Christ and obey His commands.  In this passage from the very small book called 2 John we are told to watch ourselves.  In other words to watch out, to be careful, to be concerned that we not lose. Do not lose sight of the things you learned this summer.  Press on to follow Christ, to know His love for you, to surrender yourself to Him, and to obey Him.  The reward is great.  So what exactly is the reward?  In verse 9, John says, "Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."  The reward is God.  I think sometimes this is hard to grasp.  God is the giver of all good gifts.  This means He is the source of all goodness.  Anything that you've ever experienced as good was from Him.  He is infinitely able to give you good gift upon good gift. Imagine experiencing goodness itself, not a gift of goodness, but just pure goodness.  This is the reward we have to look forward to, meeting God in all His goodness face to face.