Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

We own two very smart dogs. The older one, Gidget, went thru obedience training. If you know anything about dog training, then you know it is the owner who gets trained, not the dog. Somewhere along the process my trainer became Gidget. She was teaching me.

I found that my daily training routine became tedious. I had her doing all the tricks I wanted of her, so I cut back on training and treats. That wasn’t good enough for Gidget. She started inventing tricks with the expectation of receiving a reward. I am not stupid. I caught on to what she was doing. So I would reward her for “new” behavior.

Then we got another puppy, Molly. This one also was very bright. She caught on to tricks and treats and as expected, began inventing “new” tricks. Her inventive process was seen by Gidget and Gidget started copying Molly’s behavior. It has been a great pleasure to see these new and inventive tricks these two have come up with.

Here’s the lesson. We aren’t dogs and God doesn’t reward us for doing things that please Him. Not in the moment anyway.

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:

But somehow we get other verses stuck in our mind rather than heavenly rewards.

Matthew 6:4; 6:6; 6:18 (in part) thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Our expectation of reward in the open is not the same as doing dog tricks.

Because the Father is about doing Kingdom business, if we do things that please God then the open reward is in being given more to do in the Kingdom.

Luke 12:48c to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Proverbs 21:5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

Having worked in the manufacturing business with some rather complicated systems, I am familiar with the exploded view. Perhaps you have seen examples that are similar in model assembly instructions.

There you have all the component parts separate from the completed product. Labels identify the parts referring to a parts list showing nomenclature and quantity. For complicated designs the exploded view bares no semblance of the finished product. Lines show where each part goes in the assembly but it is difficult sometimes to see how they all fit together. That is why you have assembly instructions.

There will always be a class of people who are so confident in their own abilities that they will ignore the instructions and start the assembly, after all they have all the parts. In the end they have a few parts left over and make the fatal mistake of the hasty; “The manufacturer must have sent extra nuts and bolts!” Only during use is it discovered that there were three stabilizers, not two and the assembly starts vibrating wildly and falls apart. So I have to ask; Is your life falling apart? If yes, read the assembly instructions.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

John 10:10b I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

You may have it, that abundant life, if you follow the instructions.