Luke 14:13-14–But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,  14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
If you’re parent or work/serve in any place that requires that you continually give, than you know the difference between physical and mental exhaustion.  One of the great things to see from people who want to serve, is the intent to give what they can’t get back…
Whether we know it or not, the intent to serve is woven in everyday life.  Yet what makes serving exhausting, is that we give away what is in us, so we get depleted (Luke 8:46).  We usually expect that, but what frustrates the desire to serve is the lack of appreciation, compensation, and motivation to continually keep giving to what doesn’t “return the favor”…
Herein lies the challenge, who and what is motivating us to serve?  It could be family, affirmation, money, etc., but all such things without sought out motivation from God’s grace, will expect “a return” from such people/things.  For example we all have had the thought, “I expect to be compensated according to what I give to this (fill in the blank)”. In other words, we expect to be repaid according to our output, sometimes more than what we put out, if we’re honest!
This was the point that Jesus wanted to emphasize to us about our faith, service, and expectations.  That if we serve to get paid back from people, we will associate and serve whoever can give what we think we deserve.  So who needs God if I can get my reward from you?!  So I regulate myself only to those who can repay me back, so now I’m also bias in my unbelief…(Matthew 6:1-4, James 2:1-4)
If you are someone who loves serving people, and expecting them to repay you as your reward, you’re headed for deep disappointment (Proverbs 13:12) .  As negative as that sounds, Jesus promised we will be repaid at the resurrection of the just, not adequately from people, so we wouldn’t put our hope in them.  Because that will make us bias, and regulate our heart to those who we think can give us the best reward.  Leaving us desperately disappointed/bitter that no one can, in comparison to God and our level of service…(1 Corinthians 15:58)
In His Love, Ld