Endurance And Reward

Existimo ergo quod non sint condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis. Exhortatio haec ad superiora pertinet, per quam ostendit parva esse, quae hic possunt a perfidis irrogari, ad comparationem decreti muneris in futuro saeculo. Propterea nos jubet ad omnia exitia paratos esse debere, quia magna pro his repromissa sunt praemia; ut in tribulatione consoletur se animus, et spe crescat. Nam et quosdam, immo multos scimus pro praesentibus lucris, ad modicum utique profuturis, quam asperos et duros subire labores, et ad quae tendunt aliquando, quia ipsa vita fragilis est et incerta, pervenire non possunt. Nautae pro quibus commodis tantis se procellis et tempestatibus credunt; cum sciant in his magis mortem ante oculos esse, quam vitam? Et milites spe praesentis praemii, cum incerta victoria sit, in gladios insurgere non dubitant. Quanto ergo magis pro Christo patiendum est, cujus etiam protelata sunt nobis beneficia: qui pro parvis magnifica, pro terrenis coelestia, et pro temporalibus perpetua praemia cum gloria pollicetur! Pro Christo dicimur pati, cum nobis non illi proficiat, quod patimur: sed quia ille occasionem quaerit remunerandi nos, hoc praecipit; ut bonus enim vel profusus largitor causam quaerit, quomodo donet aut indignis, aut verecundis. Denique ut ipsa exitia tolerari possint, ipse suggerit vires. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 17.124a-b

Therefore I judge that the sufferings of this time are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be revealed to us. 1 This exhortation relates to what we have just read, by which he shows that the things it is possible may inflicted by the wicked here are small in comparison with the reward decreed in the future age. Because of which he admonishes us to be prepared for every sort of mischief, because the rewards promised for these things are so great, whence the soul may be consoled in tribulation and grow in hope. We know how bitter and hard are the labours we undergo for present gain, and for the little we get in the future, and that because life is fragile and uncertain that sometimes there is no gain at all. Consider how sailors give themselves to such great storms and tempests for such things, when they know that in these things death is more likely to be set before their eyes than life. And that soldiers do not hesitate to take up the sword for the hope of present reward, when victory is uncertain. How much more, therefore, should we suffer for Christ, whose blessings are spread out before us, He who offers great things for little things, heavenly things for worldly things, eternal rewards for temporal ones. We are said to suffer for Christ, when it benefits us and not Him, but because He seeks for an occasion to reward us, this is what He commands. For like a good and generous benefactor, He seeks a reason to give to those who are either unworthy or bashful. And then, that adversities be endured, He even supplies the strength. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.18