“Peter answered him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’ ” (Matthew 19:27-28).

Peter had the kind of personality that permitted anything that came into his mind to come out of his mouth. I read this question and thought, “I would never have dared to ask that.” I would have thought it, and still do, but I don’t think I would have been bold enough to state it. It seems to me that Peter’s question “What’s in it for us?” might have drawn a stern rebuke from Jesus, but it didn’t. Jesus took the question seriously and answered it.

I grew up in church and one word that wasn’t emphasized at all was reward. I thought it unworthy to think in terms of reward. I knew I would go to heaven some day but I didn’t think it was appropriate to think in terms of something I might do earning a reward. The question, though, didn’t bother Jesus. He readily embraced the idea that God not only notes what we do down here but will reward us.

That doesn’t have to do with our salvation, of course. Salvation is a free gift of grace and nothing we do can ever earn it or deserve it. Reward is a promise that involves our lives as believers. There are sacrifices we make and decisions that cost us. What Peter said was true for the disciples and it is still true. Many believers can say, “We have left everything to follow you!”

I have heard many times the expression, “You can’t outgive God.” It’s true! When we get to heaven we’ll be amazed at what God has planned for us. Our sacrifices will be compensated more than we can ever imagine down here. We’ll all be saying, “You did this for me?”