Skip to main content

Faith's Reward

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

This verse was brought to my attention today and I wanted to do a little thinking on it.  This section of Hebrews is all about the faith of the patriarchs and what came of their faith.  Most of them received fulfillment of a promise from God.  As I read the last portion of this verse, "that he rewards" I wonder what those rewards are.  I look at the those patriarchs and see that their rewards were things like, promised land, a son, life free from death (in Enoch's case), righteousness and, in Moses case, disgrace.  Why then do we believe that God is going to reward us with shiny blessings of happiness and money.  Where do we get this idea from?  So what are the rewards God gives when we have faith?  If we have faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, then we are rewarded with eternal life in heaven.  If we have faith in the Spirit to work in us, then we are rewarded as we become the creation God intended.  If we have faith in the power of the resurrection, then we our reward is getting to live in resurrection here on earth.  When we have faith, we are given so much more than the earthly "blessings" we think are rewards.  Our reward is living a life with Jesus in, around, and through us.  There is nothing on earth that can compare to living in resurrection through Jesus' resurrection.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

His Strength

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I was prompted to read this verse and it was perfect for today, of course.  All of Psalm 100 is praise to God.  For me today, I am praising God because He was faithful in something He had revealed to me a while ago.  Let me explain.  Have you ever asked God for His strength?  Not just strength, but His strength.  This is something that I was prompted to do about a year ago, not to just ask for strength in general, but to specifically request His strength to be given to me.  I know it sounds a little like a bit of rhetoric, but keep reading. In requesting God's own strength, I have noticed something tremendous has happened each time.  When God bestows His strength within me, it is so much more than just endurance.  His strength comes with clarity of mind, lightening of the spirit, and a depth of inner joy that cannot help but make me smile.  I feel energized in a way
2 comments
Read more

For Mom

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. This is a post for Mom.  She is the embodiment of these words written by Paul.  When I think of Mom and who God created her to be, this is it.  Each of these phrases describes her perfectly.  Mom learned very early on in her walk with Jesus to let Him have His way in her life.  Who she is and has been to people is the testament to that.  Her patience with a super naughty 2-year old, namely me, rivaled that of Job.  I don't ever remember her getting angry.  Quite frankly, Mom and the word angry in the same sentence is laughable.  She never bragged or boasted about us (even though we know she's proud of us) because that wouldn't be showing love to her listener.  Mom was never rude, she was always serving others, and she was never judgmental of anyone, no matter their past or
2 comments
Read more

The Heart of Jesus

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I have had a difficult time finding a single verse today.  I have been all over my Bible, reading and thinking.  I'm settling on this verse, mostly because it is closely related to one of my favorite verses.  I sometimes get caught up in thinking I need to do certain things to grow in my faith.  These things are not inherently bad, nor are they necessarily good.  Two big stumbling blocks for me are fasting and tithing.  I find myself getting hooked into the religious value of them rather than the relational value.  I find that spending time with God gives me a clearer picture of my own motives for wanting to do these things.  I find that I usually feel the need to fast when I'm feeling poorly about my body image.  I find that wanting to tithe usually comes after reading verses in the Old Testament about God blessing Israel for its offerings.  Both of these are motivated by my selfishness.  I am always am
Post a Comment
Read more