But the blessing Christ promised, the blessing of great reward, is a reward of grace. The blessing is promised even though it is not earned. Augustine said it this way: Our rewards in heaven are a result of God's crowning His own gifts.
R. C. SproulWe tend to have mixed feelings about the holy. There is a sense in which we are at the same time attracted to it and repulsed by it. Something draws us toward it, while at the same time we want to run away from it. We canโt seem to decide which way we want it. Part of us yearns for the holy, while part of us despises it. We canโt live with it, and we canโt live without it.
R. C. Sproul