351. A Rewarder
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
“Them that diligently seek Him” are the genuine believers in Christ. They are those who hear and believe the Gospel every chance they get. Sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him is “choosing the good portion,” as Jesus told Martha about Mary. Mary chose the “better part,” better than busying oneself with many things, like “serving” Jesus. Listening to Jesus is the “one thing needful.” Hearing the Gospel is diligently seeking Him. This seems counter-intuitive, for human nature wants to achieve something.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. And faith comes by hearing, He who comes to God must believe two things: 1) that He is, and 2) that He is a rewarder. Believing that He is involves more than simply believing that God exists, though that is where we start. The devil believes that. Believing that God is involves trusting in God to be for us all that He says He is and that He will do for us all that He says He will do. Thus it is a good idea to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God, which tells us everything we need to know about God, and when you read it, believe it.
Secondly, believe that God rewards; He keeps His promises; He does what He says; He will do what He says He will do. God’s rewards are rewards of grace. God does not reward good works as earned salary, but He rewards according to mercy. He just chooses to reward, like it was His choice to “reward” the same those who worked all day and those who worked one hour. It’s Grace. Believing Grace is receiving Grace. Receiving grace is diligently seeking Him.
It does take some effort: we pull the Bible off the shelf, we carve out some time, we put energy into prayer, we drive the car to church, we listen attentively to the Gospel, we “go” to Communion. But that effort is itself motivated and driven by the grace of God. God rewards such diligent seeking. It even takes effort to “sit at the feet of Jesus,” although it appears like laziness to Martha.
The “Mary and Martha” and “Pharisee and Publican” parables teach us something about “diligently seeking HIM,”versus seeking approval, or credit, or reward. Both Mary and the Publican received praise, but that wasn’t what they were seeking. Seek Jesus! God is, and God is a rewarder. Believe it!