After Salvation, what's next?

    Once you’ve accepted God’s salvation, is there any more to do? Since we don’t have to work for it and we can’t lose it is that all? Getting saved is just the first step in a new life, God wants us to grow from there, we don’t have to, He gives the freedom to do what we want. Many people get their salvation and do nothing else, they still get to heaven but miss out on other blessings. God promises us that we can live life abundantly, to do that we need to stay close to Him and follow His way. Proverbs 13:13 says;

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

 How do we get rewarded? Hebrews 11:6 tells us 

 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Colossians 3:23-24 tells us

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

And Jesus tells us in Luke 6:35

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

These rewards are ones we will receive in heaven based on what we do with our salvation. So what can we do to please God and earn rewards? The simplest thing is don’t forget Him and what He has done for you, go and tell others about it. Jesus told many parables and I have my own parable to explain this.
You are a child and you are in the mall with your mother and you see a beautiful ring that you know your mother would love. You want to get the ring for her but it is very expensive. You start by doing extra chores around the house, cleaning the garage, doing the laundry. You soon realize that this isn’t getting you enough money, so you start going around the neighborhood cutting grass in summer, raking leaves in fall and shoveling snow in winter. This still isn’t getting enough money fast enough so you get a job at the neighborhood grocery store bagging groceries after school. This is hard on you, coming home from school and going to work, then coming home and getting all your school work done because your mother won’t let you keep the job if you don’t keep your grades up. Your friends come over to do things but you have to go to work. On the weekends, your friends want you to go to the mall to see movies (they know you have money) but you tell them you can’t, you need to save your money. Finally you have enough money to buy the ring. You go to the store and pick it out and you hand over all the money you have worked so hard for. You have sacrificed part of your life to get this ring but now that you have it it’s all been worth it. You rush home to give the ring to your mother. You don’t want to wait for her birthday or any other special occasion. When your mother sees the ring, she smiles, gives you a kiss and thanks you. Then she puts the ring in her jewelry box. She gets it out to wear it on special occasions and family gatherings but the rest of the time keeps it in the box.
    Is that what you want? Is that how you would want her to respond? No! You want her to wear that ring everywhere she goes. You want her to wear that ring to work and show it to everyone and tell them what you did to get her that ring. You want her to wear that ring to the grocery store, (the one you used to work at) and show everybody there and tell them about it. You want her to tell all her friends and neighbors. That’s what God wants. God paid a very dear price for our gift. Jesus died for it. It was a very painful unpleasant death. If you’ve seen the passion, Mel Gibson wasn’t exaggerating what Jesus went through, the movie only shows part of it. In reality, the scourging and crucifixion procedure was much worse and wouldn’t be allowed in theaters.

Unfortunately, many people put His gift in a box and only take it out on special occasions like holidays and church family gatherings. God wants us to show his gift to others and tell them what He did for us. Acts 1:8 says 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This is the last thing Jesus told His disciples before returning to heaven. He told them to go and tell everyone about Him, to the ends of the earth. That’s what He wants us to do, to go and tell everyone, even if they don’t accept it. It’s not our job to make others believe, let God do that. God just wants us to tell others and leave the rest to Him.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 . Standard Bible Society: Wheaton (all verses)