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

Signs of His Work

Joshua 4:6 to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' I realize this is a very fragmented verse, but go with it.  This got me to thinking.  What are the stones in my life that serve as signs of God's work in my life?  I am not a big fan of material items because I don't really care about stuff.  It's just that, stuff.  So, I've had to think a little harder about this.  The obvious sign of God's current work is the tennis bracelet I wear in memory of Mom.  Other obvious signs that might include my Bible, Dalton's grandmother's wedding ring, and my wedding ring.  However, if I think of the things in my life that are the most evident of God's work, it would be the stories of the different journeys God and I have been on together.  The story of how I got my current job and the multitude of "God things" that surrounded that moment.  The story of a college friend telling me, "...
Post a Comment
Read more

Channels Only

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. Our treasure is the Spirit of God and the jar of clay is our earthly body.  In this section of scripture Paul is explaining to the people of Corinth that they are a channel for God to shine through and that through Jesus we will never be separated from God again.  At the hospice house, Liz, my sister, sat down and played Channels Only on the piano.  This is a song that has deep and lasting meaning for my family, but today I instantly thought of my mother lying in the bed in the next room and felt the truth in the words of that song.  Tears began to stream as I recognized to the fullest extent what it means to be a channel for God.  It is my prayer. Channels Only by Mary E. Maxwell How I praise Thee, precious Savior, That Thy love laid hold of me; Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me  That I might Thy channel be. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are You Troubled?

Luke 24:38 He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?" (Jesus speaking to the disciples when he appeared to them after his resurrection.)  I feel as though Jesus was asking me this question today.  My struggle has been seeing the situations in and around my life and discerning His movements and purpose.  We are so quick to jump to judgement of what we think God must be, or not be, up to.  Why is that?  Doubts pop up so easily and run amuck within the mind.  We take the crummy parts of life and run with them, believing the silliest lies that Satan throws at us.  The disciples had the resurrected Jesus in the room with them to show who He really was.  They could see his scars and watch him eat.  Where is the resurrected Jesus in our situations when we become troubled and begin to doubt?  Wouldn't it be something if Jesus physically appeared at those times?  Fortunately, we don't need Jesus to phys...
Post a Comment
Read more