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THE REWARDS OF THE OVERCOMER

REVELATION 21:1-7

Have you ever noticed when someone dies how many ways we have developed to talk about that without ever saying the person died? We say things like, "He passed on" or "She went to heaven" or "He went home to be with the Lord." Interesting sayings we use to talk about the most significant transition in life outside of being born.

One that I heard a lot growing up was, "He went on to his eternal reward." Eternal reward. That sounded pretty good. We like rewards. But I used to wonder and sometimes, I guess, still do: just what do we mean by "eternal reward"? Well I know we mean heaven, but what is that really all about? Quite frankly, a life of harps and wings and clouds sounds a bit boring to me. And yet I always heard the saints of the church talk about heaven with a tear in their eye. It was obvious that they longed for the time when they would go to heaven and receive their eternal reward. I have to confess I never really understood that.

I couldn't imagine as a kid why anyone would want to go to heaven now. Oh, I wanted to go to heaven someday, but I hoped it was a long way off. The idea of eternal reward just didn't hold a lot attraction for me. I must say, though, that even at my relatively young age I think I'm beginning to understand a little bit more about why those older saints of the church had a gleam in their eye when they talked about heaven.

I guess my lack of understanding was due to the fact that I just never could really connect with what could be so great about living in heaven. I mean, from a practical standpoint, what could heaven offer me that I didn't already have?

Well I think the Book of Revelation gives an answer to that question. Overcoming is a major theme in this book. And most of the time the idea of overcoming is related to overcoming negative things. Overcoming evil and overcoming sin. Overcoming the things that defeat us and drag us down spiritually. But in Revelation there is also a positive side to overcoming. Overcoming to the rewards of being an overcomer. It's no secret that Revelation promises the overcomer some wonderful rewards. But what are they? What do they really mean to us?

I think that's what John is wanting to show us in this final section of his amazing book. John has been describing the great struggle going on between the forces of evil and the forces of God. He has just laid out for us the great battle between the Lamb and the beast. He's depicted the victory of God's people and the judgment of all people and the division of sheep and goats--the dividing of the unrepentant from the righteous.

But now as we come into chapter 21, John begins to look ahead. The overcoming of all the negative things of this world has been accomplished through the Lamb. Now it's time to look ahead to what we are overcoming to. What are the eternal rewards of the believer?

Before we look specifically at what John's answer to that is, perhaps we need to ask ourselves another question. Rewards are usually related to needs or desires. That is to say, something that would be a reward to us, a meaningful reward, would have to be something that met a need or a desire that we have. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't see it as all that valuable. That's why as a kid when I thought of heaven as only harps and halos it didn't hold much attraction for me. I didn't need harps or halos when I was 10 years old.

What kinds of things would really be a reward for us? Now, material things are the easy answer. I mean, probably all of us would see a gift or reward of $1 million as great. We all think we could use more money. But in terms of things that really matter, what are the needs or desires that we live with? As I thought about that question, I came up with four basic things that I think virtually every person in the world would say he or she desires. I don't think these are the only four things, but I do think they are basic.

One, it seems as though virtually every person desires a level of happiness or joy in life. There's just something about how we are made that makes us long for happiness.

Two, it seems every person really wants justice or fairness. You see this evidenced very early on in children. It's one of the first abstract concepts they talk about. "It isn't fair . . ." We all want life to be fair.

Third, it seems we all have a need to understand life. We all have deep questions that we long to have answered. Why do things happen the way they do? Where is God in all of this? Why doesn't God do things this way or that way? We seem to long for the ability to understand life or have a perspective on life that will help us be at peace with the things that happen to us.

Four, we all long for intimacy. Every one of us needs to be known by others and know them. Relationship. Friendship. Companionship. Lots of words we use for it, but it is basically a sense of intimacy.

Is that a fair list? Would you agree that those are pretty basic needs? I mean, if someone could really offer you those four things in all their fullness, wouldn't you consider that a pretty good reward?

To imagine what the rewards of the overcomer might be, let's see how that list compares with the things John talks about as he looks into the future under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, as John begins to get a vision for what life will be like for the overcomer, he is at a loss to describe what he is seeing. So he begins to use images as a painter who dips his brush into colored paints. The images on his canvass are not the rewards themselves, but as we begin to see his painting come together, we begin to get a picture of what John really has in mind.

He speaks of a new heaven and a new earth and a new city, a New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God dressed a bride adorned for her husband--a beautiful place radiant with the joy of new bride. This is not a new image with John. In fact, the idea of a New Jerusalem was fairly common in ancient thought and literature. It came to represent the fulfillment of all human dreams and desires--God himself providing a perfect dwelling place for His people.

But the thing that makes this dwelling place special is that God himself inhabits it. The loud voice John refers to announced the truth: "God is with men, and He will live with them" (v. 3). In fact, the promise really isn't about a dwelling place but is about God himself and the unspeakable joy of living in His very presence. That's what the city comes to represent.

But then listen to how life in that city of God is described: "They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God" (v. 3). Does that sound even vaguely familiar to you? It's the covenant that God made with Abraham. The covenant He made with the people of Israel and reaffirmed through Moses. "I will be your God and you will be my people" (Jeremiah 7:23) and "I will dwell among [you]" (Exodus 29:45).

That's the promise that God's people staked their very lives on throughout the Scriptures. It's a covenant that was confirmed, made possible, and delivered through Jesus, who said to His disciples and to us: "I am going . . . to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3). "I will be your God and you will be my people" and "I will dwell among [you]."

God himself is the reward of the overcomer. And now I understand--that was the gleam in those old saints' eyes! It wasn't harps and halos. It was the promise of living in the very presence of God himself, who would meet those deepest needs and desires of their hearts. We know that is what our eternal reward is about, but we only know it dimly. Paul says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

It's a wonderful thing to think about living in the presence of the risen Christ. But lest we have any misunderstanding about how that meets our deepest needs and desires, John goes on to describe some other things that will happen when we receive our eternal reward. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4a). What's one of our basic desires? Happiness? Joy? This is a wonderful picture. No more tears. No more of the things of this world that rob our joy and frustrate our happiness. And did you notice that it is God himself who is wiping the tears from our eyes? What a wonderful picture of His compassion and tender care! Keep reading: "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" (vv. 4b-5).

The injustices of our world create so much death, mourning, crying, and pain. We see it every day of our lives. I don't know about you, but sometimes my heart cries out, "Won't it ever end?" But the reward of the overcomer is for a city of God that is characterized by perfect justice--the kind of justice that eliminates mourning, crying, and pain.

Look at verse 6: "He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost and from the spring of the water of life.'" One of our deep needs is understanding. Why do things happen the way they do? Why is life like it is? Did you notice how living in the presence of God, our ultimate reward, meets that need? How does John describe him? "The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." Christ, who spoke the world into existence when He said, "Let there be," is the same Christ who is the end of all things and everything in between.

He started it, and He will end it. He understands perfectly why things have happened the way they have. And when we see Him face-to-face, we will have all our questions answered, all our doubts erased, and we will understand.

And finally verse 7: "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Perhaps more than anything else in the world we need intimacy. Holy and pure intimacy. Being completely known without shame. Knowing another completely without shame. And in the wonderful picture of this parent-child relationship that need is met in a way that we could never imagine--even in the very best parent-child relationship we could think of.

I would suggest to you today that the rewards of the overcomer promised to us in this wonderful book meet up very well with the deepest needs and desires of our lives. Our desire for joy, our desire for justice, our desire for understanding, our need for intimacy are all perfectly met in the promise of taking up our residence in the New Jerusalem, the city where God dwells with us as our Father. Do you want to be an overcomer? Do want to enjoy the rewards of the overcomer? You can. Because they are not based on your ability. They are based on the grace of God freely offered to you through Jesus Christ.

So when you struggle with the unfairness and pain of life and it begins to rob you of joy. When you become frustrated because you just can't see the purpose in what is happening to you. When you feel isolated and alone, even sometimes feel like God isn't listening--hold on. Be faithful. Trust Him. You are an overcomer through Jesus Christ. You want joy, justice, understanding, intimacy. The good word is: "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."