Hebrews 6-7

(August 20, 2013)
I think, for the first time, I really understand the idea of the Lord blessing us for His name’s sake.  After all, if we diligently serve the Lord to the best of our abilities, we have earned no reward (whether great or small) – because He has still done everything and we are nothing without Him.  What’s more, we have still not done what we were called to do, for we have not perfectly placed our shoulder to the wheel and pushed His work forward.  So why should we think ourselves to be blessed for our efforts?

Instead, though, we can see that the Lord would bless our efforts for His name.  What would it say to the world, if a wicked man (any wicked man) were to prosper and achieve happiness while a man struggling to be righteous (any such man) was not blessed with such prosperity and righteousness?  Could not a person look at that situation and say that the one man found happiness in wickedness and the man who attempted to serve the Lord did not?  Could not a person look at that situation and question why serve the Lord, because He does not care for His servants (or doesn’t have the capacity to properly care for them)?

Thus, though we have not earned the blessings we receive, we can look with an eye of faith to the Lord to bless us for His name.  For while we have earned nothing, our efforts to be His servants will be blessed by His hands over and above any of the joys (temporary though they may be) of the wicked.