WHO ARE YOU DOING IT FOR?
WHO ARE YOU DOING IT FOR?
I heard a sermon on Sunday about God being a covenant keeper. But something caught my attention in this sermon. Pastor talked about children sometimes reaping the fruits and benefits of the good deeds of their parents or grand parents. Now we have most probably heard of this scripture “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Exodus 20 :5 – 6 NLT
Quite honestly, the above scripture in Exodus 20 is very familiar. But it was not until after that sermon that I began to see it as something very relevant to me, to us today. This means to me that all our actions have the potential of affecting our offspring and their own offspring positively or negatively.
Let us fast forward quickly to Hebrews 11: 11-13; we are told Abraham was as good as dead yet he had faith enough to trust God that his descendants would be “as numerous as the sand on the sea shore and as countless as the stars in the sky”.. Abraham did not receive the promise before he died. He died living in faith and did not start misbehaving even though the promise did not come to pass in his lifetime. And God blessed his offspring Isaac lavishly because of Abraham his father. Genesis 26: 3- 5
It is therefore time that we begin to pay serious attention to our actions and the motives behind them. God sees every wrong deed and the repercussions could very well blight the future of our children and grandchildren. On the flip side however, imagine all our good deeds coming up before God as a memorial the way it happened with Cornelius, the centurion of the Italian band. “…He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God……….Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!” Acts 10 : 2 & 4 NLT. We are told that he was startled when the angel of God appeared to him. This tells me that he just kept doing what was good and right not because he stood to benefit something. There was also another centurion (Luke 7) whose devoted servant was ill. He approached some Jewish elders who went and told Jesus about him pleading that Jesus should find time in His busy schedule to attend to this servant. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” Luke 7:4-5 NLT His good deeds were recalled to Jesus and Jesus agreed to go to help Him. We have been asked to.“let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV and also to be productive, “Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.” Titus 3: 14 NLT
We are told over and over again to do good. Doing good can only ever be worth our while. “For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.” Hebrews 6:10 NLT
Whatever good you are doing therefore, please do not stop. But let it not be for vain glory or fame. And when you do know that heaven is recording it for you and for your offspring up to the forth generation.
A lot of God’s people are out there crying for help. Let us do it for God and reach out to them. “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” 1 Corinthians 15 : 58 NLT
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©
N/b “Pastor” is Pastor Moses Adebowale, the Senior Regional Overseer of MFM Lagos Region 1