I received an inheritance once when my aunt died. She and my uncle had no children of their own and were like second parents to my brother and me. It was a blessing for our family at the time. We knew she did it out of love for us.
Our LORD has also promised us what Paul calls “the reward of an inheritance.”
“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord.” [Colossians 3:23 HCSB]
Paul reminded us that when we do something, we are to do it as if we were doing it for the LORD Himself. Whatever that is … it could be teaching a Sunday School class or doing the dishes. It could be digging a ditch or writing a play. The keys are “whatever” and doing it “for the LORD and not for men.”
God, in His great mercy and love gives us a down payment on that inheritance now.
“When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.” [Ephesians 1:13:15 HCSB]
The marvelous thing about the down payment of our inheritance (the Holy Spirit) is that it is the power of God’s Own Spirit that enables us to do all the “whatever’s … for the LORD and not for men” so that we might receive that “reward of an inheritance from the Lord.”
