WORKS!

Getreidegasse no. 9, in Salzburg, is where the Mozart family lived from 1747 to 1773. Wolfgang Amadeus, the most notable of that clan, was born here on January 27, 1756: Mozarts Geburtshaus. Today those rooms house the Mozart Museum, maintained and managed by the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum (International Mozart Foundation). Among the fascinating exhibits are Mozart’s violins, his clavichord, his pianoforte, numerous portraits, and the correspondence of the Mozart family. But what caught my attention was the massive pile of that eminent maestro’s works: every note he had inscribed was there—nicely bound, impressively stacked, securely protected. Every note. (All of which aforementioned notes can now also be located online here.) But an online assemblage of notes, while perhaps more useful, is not as impressive as the 6+ feet-tall anthology of his compositions. Sacred music, theatrical pieces, orchestral works, songs, concertos, chamber music, piano music, and on and on …. Prodigious. Prolific. Plentiful. That was one productive dude! And all in 35 years of life in the 18th century.

No question Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Amadeus (Theophilus) Mozart was one of a kind. No doubt his musical genius is not the common intellectual heft that most of us bear. Rarely, if ever, will that kind of productivity (and artistic quality) be matched. Nevertheless, that stack of volumes made me think.

I could not help but wonder what the assessment of the Divine Accountant auditing my earthly works would be when I stand before Him one day.

So then each one of us will give
an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:12

While there is no condemnation for those who have placed their trust in Christ as Savior, this accounting before God will be a necessary process for the disbursement of rewards, the Bible declares.

For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each one may be
recompensed for his deeds
in the body,
according to what he has done,
whether good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10

What those rewards will be, I care not to speculate. That there is some sort of testing and affirmation of the quality of our work on earth, it seems clear.

… the fire itself will test
the quality of each one’s work.
If any one’s work
which he has built on
[the foundation of Christ] remains,
he will receive a reward.
1 Corinthians 3:13

Perhaps the most joyful words subsequent to that inspection will be those from the parable Jesus taught. Will we hear Him say …

“Well done, good and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things,
I will put you in charge
of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.”
Matthew 25:23

This concept of rewards is, of course, not designed to induce mercenary motives in us. In fact, the good works we perform are those that God Himself prepared for us to undertake.

For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus
for good works,
which God prepared beforehand
so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

And they are performed solely in the power of Christ through the Spirit. As Paul affirmed:

I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me.
Galatians 2:20

Nothing, therefore, to boast about in “our” works. Nonetheless, they are an incentive to serve God diligently and devotedly.

With good will render service,
as to the Lord, and not to men,
knowing that whatever
good thing each one does,
this he will receive back
from the Lord ….
Ephesians 6:7

May we be faithful!