Two men owned farms side by side. One was a bitter atheist, the other a devout Christian. Constantly annoyed at the Christian for his trust in God, the atheist said to him one winter, “Let’s plant our crops as usual this spring, each the same number of acres. You pray to your God and I’ll curse him. Then come October, let’s just see who has the bigger crop.”

When October came, the atheist was delighted because his crop was larger. “See, you fool,” he taunted. “What do you have to say for your God now?”

“My God,” replied the other farmer, “doesn’t settle all his accounts in October.”

God’s compensation for both believers and unbelievers is usually deferred. But a day is coming upon all men, when the announcement from heaven will ring out, “The time has come for judging … and for rewarding” (Revelation 11:18). This will be the “appointed time” of judgment (l Corinthians 4:5). “At the proper time,” Paul says elsewhere, “we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” So he encourages us, “Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9).

From In Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn, page 129