Faith – in Other WordsSample

Faith, the kind that pleases (not appeases) God, believes simultaneously that God is and that he rewards those who seek him.  Once again, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that faith is not a static quality, that stops at, ‘I believe.’  There is a sequence that faith of necessity moves in.  It believes that God is, that he exists, therefore he is able to be sought, and that he rewards the seeker.  This is faith – in other words.

Some people might find their refined sensibilities offended by the notion of reward, but that is exactly what God does - he rewards the seeker.  And we can assume that the reward is first and foremost that we find him.  God is the great treasure to/for the human, and like all treasure, yields to the seeker, not the critic or spectator, much less the disinterested.  

We are not purely other-oriented beings, selfless to the point of dismissal of anything that could be seen as personal benefit.  Reward matters in most endeavors; reward motives us.  People don’t, or rarely, do a thing for its own sake.  We get something out of what we do, from planting seeds in the soil to showing love to others.  It would be abnormal, and unnatural, were it otherwise. 

Jesus spoke clearly about reward when he spoke of the motivating dynamics behind prayer, giving, and fasting.  The parable of the talents addresses reward for application of each person’s ability.  We are rewarded, in our seeking and in our doing.

This is faith – in other words.