I saw elderly people working voluntarily without getting paid. Go to Kaiser Permanente at Rosecrans and Lakewood. Certainly you can find some senior citizens working voluntarily at the information booth or receptionist areas. Does this mean that they do not get benefited? Yes they do. They do get benefited for work itself is rewarding, helping them to live longer. :-)
In reading the four gospels we see Jesus calling his disciples to work as unworthy servants. As such they are to work, work, and work, until they are all worn out, and they are called to do so even when there is no immediate benefit of work. After "working" them out for more or less three years, Jesus left them for "heaven" without providing them with paychecks. During the tenure of their "employment" Jesus never paid them a dime. In leaving his children behind Jesus did not provide them with any retirement programs such as pension plan.
After Jesus' departure did the "apostles" stop working? No, for it is said only John died a natural death. All the rest went to one 'mission' field or another, and suffered martyrdom. In the Last Judgment, for example, Michelangelo depicts Bartholomew displaying his flayed skin suggesting people Bartholomew chose to serve treated him just like a Japanese Sushi Man doing sashimi out of the catch of the day.
Why did they work ever so sacrificially?
We can find the answer to this question in the Lord God helping Abraham - the father of [Christian] faith. In Genesis 12 God called Abraham to work for him. By that time he was already a senior citizen - 75 years old. At the age of 75 along with his wife he left and went. Since then he worked, and worked. He sacrificed and sacrificed more. Soon he had enough and was about to call it quits. Then God said, "I am your very great reward." But Abraham talked back, "Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless...?" Genesis 15:1
So far Abraham worked in expectation of the payment that is the son to come out of his beloved wife Sarah.
It appears that he did not know that being a father to a son comes with an entirely new batch of "work". In a movie entitled "Dad's home", a man's wife died after producing two kids. Then he lost his job and had to work at home endlessly not for a new job, but for kids (fixing meals for the kids, giving them a ride back and forth for schooling, doing laundries, and the list goes on and on).
God knew better than Abraham that son is not the reward but represents more work for Abraham.
Why then does God call his children to work? We already know the answer: he truly wants to reward their children, with true reward, that is, God himself. He himself is the payment. And by him "calling" (or hiring if you will) you to work at his company where He is the boss (or the payor), you have already been paid off with a blank check (in the line for the order party you can write 'cash' so you can always cash it in) for all the work you are called to do. And as you work more for Him you come to know him better. In this way as you work more your reward is going to be credited to your account to an infinite degree.
"I am your very great reward..."
Compare this statement with what Abraham said, "What can you give me since I am childless..." Here 'What can you give me" is as good as saying, "You haven't given me a penny yet." Infinitely great benefit vs. a total emptiness.
Abraham is like a man who has been given a checkbook with the right to write a check (in an amount which is not limited) out of the savings account where the balance never runs out! Yet he said, "What can you give me?"
Consider then the threefold emphasis:
1. Your;
2. Very; and
3. Great
Reward.
Caveat: you may not be able to see this as practical, for if anything is too big you end up not being able to see it. Not all that are physically visible are all there is. In fact what you can sense with your five senses represents only a fragment of reality.
So you are a student, an employee, a pastor, a husband, a father or a mother. Why do you work then?
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