In ancient times when Roman soldiers had served in the military for twenty years, they were rewarded with land grants for their faithful service. These grants usually were about twenty acres in size. The prospect of becoming a landowner made the hard life of a soldier more bearable. After years of campaigning, they could look forward to a life of relative ease.
The practice of giving land grants has largely disappeared in modern times, but there is still one great Ruler who gives land grants to those who serve Him faithfully.
The grants He gives are in the most pristine place ever formed. He guarantees the possession of these grants forever. Those who receive His grants become rich in the truest sense of the word. It is His pleasure to give these grants to all who bow the heart and knee to Him and confess Him as Lord and Saviour.
The ruler is the Lord Jesus Christ, and men and women need to confess Him as Lord and Saviour, because the world in which we live is not in a state of peace with God, but rather in a state of enmity or hostility. Proof of this exists in the fact that when the Son of God came to earth on a mission of mercy, He was taken by cruel hands and nailed to a cross of wood. “This is the heir: come, let us kill Him, that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:1414But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. (Luke 20:14)). That act of torture took place nearly two thousand years ago, but the hatred has continued ever since.
In fact, if you honestly look into your heart, would you not discover that you too are in a state of rebellion against God? Would you not find in your heart ingratitude? malice? lust? pride? Since the fall of the first parents, “Yes” must be the answer to all of these questions. Such an appraisal is grim, but don’t despair. There is hope for sinners. When the Lord Jesus hung on the cross, His death made a way that God can deal in righteousness and justice with the problem of sin. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38-3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39)).
You don’t have to remain in a state of hostility with God. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). God, in sending His Son, has done everything it takes so that you can come to Him by faith and be reconciled, that is, changed from a state of enmity to one of peace and acceptance. Those who are reconciled to God possess the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life, which otherwise they would not have.
God loves you. In the death and resurrection of His Son, He has made a way that undeserving sinners can share in His goodness for time and eternity. Once you believe in Him, He wants you to stand for Him in the world that has rejected Him. Standing for Him will require the patience, perseverance and courage of a soldier. The battles may be hard and the campaigning difficult, but when this life is over, God will reward those who serve Him faithfully. The Lord Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-32In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2‑3)). What will it be to have a home in heaven and to live joyously in the presence of God!
Won’t you join the ranks of those who have placed their trust in the name of the Son of God? When this life is over, they will receive a wonderful home in heaven where nothing will ever come between them and His love forever.