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In Paul's epistle to the Hebrews, he defined faith saying:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). Then Paul
exemplified faith saying: "By faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things
which are seen were not made of the things which are visible"
(Heb. 11:3).
Paul tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please
Him (God, aem), for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"
(Heb. 11:6).
The point that I would like to make in this article is that we
must diligently seek God to be rewarded by Him.
Paul exemplifies a faith that diligently seeks after God from the
Old Testament:
- Noah was divinely warned about the flood and prepared an ark
according to the word of God (Heb. 11:7).
- Abraham obeyed God by faith and sojourned in the land of promise
(Heb. 11:8).
- Abraham offered Isaac by faith (Heb. 11:17).
- By faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God (Heb. 11:24).
- By faith, Moses and the children of Israel kept the Passover
and passed through the Red Sea on dry land.
- By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after Israel marched
around the city for seven days.
A person who is diligently seeking after God will go to any length
to find God and obey His word. Jesus teaches us that we must have
this commitment to God saying: "If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for My sake will find it. For what is a man profited if
he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a
man give in exchange for his soul" (Matt. 16:24-25)?
Now ask yourself whether you are diligently seeking after God.
Are you seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt.
6:33)? Are you taking up your cross every day and following after
Christ (Matt. 14:24)?
We know what it means to be diligent. Think about this:
- If a football player only goes to half the practices, is he
diligent? And if an able-bodied Christian only goes to half the
church services, is he diligent?
- If a student rarely studies at home, is he diligent? And if
a Christian rarely studies at home, is he diligent?
- If a student goes unprepared to class, is he diligent? And
if a Christian goes unprepared to Bible class, is he diligent?
- If an able-bodied club member attends all of the meetings but
never helps with the work, is he diligent? And if an able-bodied
Christian attends all the church services but never helps with
any of the work, is he diligent?
We know what it means to be diligent. And we know that God is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And yet I have heard
it said of many churches: "10 percent of the people do 100
percent of the work." What do you think? How many of those
people will God reward?
Join me and seriously ask yourself: "Am I diligently seeking
God?"
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