Take Life as It Comes

9 All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.^{(A) 28} I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.^{(B) 29} My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all,^[a] and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.^{(C) 30} The Father and I are one.”

¹⁴ There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked and wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.^(A)

⁵ who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.^(A)

¹² and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard the deposit I have entrusted to him.^[a](A)

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and each will receive wages according to their own labor.^{(A) 9} For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.^(B)

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Let each builder choose with care how to build on it.^{(C) 11} For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.^{(D) 12} Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ the work of each builder will become visible, for the day^[a] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.^{(E) 14} If the work that someone has built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a wage. ¹⁵ If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

¹⁵ Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape.”^(A)

The Reward of the Faithful

¹⁶ Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name.^{(B) 17} They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them.^{(C) 18} Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.^(D)