Tuesday morning I noticed how cute one of my younger co-workers looked. Almost all the people I work with are younger than I am; but I digress. Anyway, I told another co-worker how pretty I thought the other woman was.
She was dressed neatly but casually. Her hair was in a simple but classic pony tail. I voiced a wish my hair looked that good in that style. I have plenty of hair but it is fine and straight. I went on to say my pony tails always looked thin and just hung lifelessly. Her hair was full and bouncy.
My friend said, "You know she uses a flat iron on her hair right?" I was a little surprised ... I said, "Even when she pulls it back like that?" She nodded yes. Well, that made me stop and think. This meant there was work involved - even with such a simple style.
As I thought about the time and effort put into having a pretty pony tail, I began to think about our spiritual lives. It takes time and effort to grow closer to God -- to be Christ like in our dealings with others -- to develop our faith -- and our love. Just as we have to be willing to put extra time into our physical appearance, we have to be willing to put extra time into our spiritual lives.
Hebrews 11:6 says: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (NKJ). There are so many profound thoughts here in just one verse. Think about it ... do we believe that He is? Yes! Do we understand that God rewards those who diligently seek Him?
At dictionary.com the word diligently is defined as being "constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything." Do we want our Father's reward? Are we willing to put in the work it takes? Or are we satisfied with what is easiest?
Doing what is easiest is a dangerous mindset, especially when it comes to our eternal souls! Just as it takes time and effort to present a more pleasing physical appearance; it takes time and effort to grow and develop our faith.
Please let us not be lazy about our souls! Let us always keep eternity in mind. Seek Him ... through constant prayer and Bible study. This is where we find Him first. The Bible contains the most beautiful story ever told.
Isn't wonderful to see how certain scriptures go hand in hand with each other? God's word works like that. According to 2 Timothy 2:15 we are to "be diligent (there's that word again) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
We must study the Truth and study it attentively. We will not be ashamed to work for Him if we are using the Truth correctly. If we do not study we will not know what to do to follow the Father's will. If we take only part of the Truth or if we twist it around somehow, our Heavenly Father will not be pleased with us.
We come to God through His truth. Remember Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me"(John 14:6). So when we study scripture we are essentially learning of Christ. Hopefully, the more we study and learn about Jesus the more our love for Him will grow.
Communication with God is not just a one way street. We hear from God through the Bible. He hears us through our prayers. This is another way to draw closer to our God. It is vital to the Christian's life.
Scripture tells us to be "constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12) and to "continue steadfastly in prayer being watchful in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2). Remember our definition of diligence -- "constant in effort" and "attentive and persistent?" The very definition of diligence is used in these two passages.
Going back to Hebrews 11:6 - if we want to please God, we must diligently seek Him. We seek Him through diligent Bible study. Yet 2 Timothy 2:15 mentions something else. It mentions being a worker. Paul is talking about working and serving the Lord. If we truly look for Jesus -- if we truly want to be with Him -- to walk with Him, then we must be willing to do His will. We must work at what we study.
Let us not forget the importance of prayer. We must remember what a blessing prayer is. There is an amazing peace that comes with being constant in our prayer life. Yes, it is a command -- but my oh my, the rewards we will gain!
Seeking God requires time and effort. We must train ourselves to spend time with Him and we must teach ourselves to live like Christ did. It is not always easy. It takes diligence on our part. I daresay it takes more time than it does to fix our hair.
Do we want to come to God? Will we be constant, attentive and persistent? It is totally our decision to make. No one else can decide for us. It takes commitment and it definitely is not always easy. But we must remember "He rewards those who diligently seek Him."
Christ above all things,
Robin
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