The Rewards of Sacrifice

“During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

   But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

   But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

I Kings 3:19-27

Sacrifice is rewarded by God.

The Bible is filled with examples.

The lives of Abraham, Joseph, Job, and particularly Jesus himself confirm this truth. 

The scripture passage today is most often used to display the wisdom given to King Solomon by God but as you read it did you note the sacrifice the real mother was prepared to make and how the King, through that wisdom he had received, recognized her as the genuine birth mother and rewarded her with the life of her son. She was prepared to sacrifice raising her own son to another person so that he would remain alive.  Her reward was immediate. Ours may not always be.

The Bible tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the hope that was set before Him. His reward was on the other side of the cross. Our reward may lead us through some difficulties first but make no mistake God sees our sacrifice and He is a debtor to no man. That means our sacrifices will be rewarded.

As you walk obediently before God offering your life as a living sacrifice remember the truth of His reward for those who have sacrificed for His sake and for the sake of the Kingdom of God.