Hebrews 11:6
If you are going to come to God you must believe that
1. He is
2. He rewards those who seek him

What is the reward for seeking God? I have never really tried to answer this question. Maybe it is my aversion to a "contract based" relationship with God. Maybe it is my Baptistic upbringing. Perhaps I have considered this a which-came-first kind of question. It was a question that shouldn’t really be asked. But once I admitted that I was asking the question, I was able to seek an answer. Context is always a good place to look when I don’t understand a portion of Scripture, so I read the rest of chapter 11. I read Hebrews 11, keeping verse 6 at the front of my mind: “What is this reward?”

I understand why many so-called exegetes prefer proof-text to context. I do. Context muddies the waters. I, for one, am uncomfortable with the answer I found to my question, “What is the reward for seeking God?”

In the context of Hebrews 11:6, Noah became the heir of righteousness. Abraham received an inheritance, became a father, and (figuratively) received his son back from the dead (If only...). Jacob blessed the grandsons of his dead son (Joseph). And then all those too numerous to detail who conquered kingdoms, administered justice, shut the mouths of lions, escaped Egyptians, escaped the sword, quenched the power of fire, received back their dead...whew!

These are amazing triumphs, and they all follow after the declaration that we must believe that God rewards us when we seek him. Before this, though, we find talk of commendations earned by faith, Enoch not seeing death and being “commended as having pleased God.” So all around Hebrews 11:6, we can find examples of the rewards people received by faith. In some cases it may be victory in battle. For others it is a preserved life. Yet for others it is the consolation prize of being commended for righteousness.

So if I am going to try and draw a conclusion as to the reward for seeking God, what is it? Maybe it is that God delivers a “He was right” on my behalf. Perhaps it will be in this life as I find victory in righteous battle. Perhaps it will be that I preserve my integrity in the face of unrighteousness.

Those seem…safe, though.

None of the examples given were mild. Noah condemned the world. Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, Samuel all inflicted great hurt on God’s enemies. So why do I think that faith should result in a nice, unobtrusive life today? I ought to rock the boat. God’s enemies should hate me. I should stand powerfully for God. This is the purpose that we are to take away from Hebrews 11. We should not be twiddling our thumbs waiting for the Messiah any more than Moses, Barak, David, or Daniel did. Hebrews 12 describes this motivation as lifting drooping hands and strengthening weak knees. How are your knees?
The saints of old were active in their societies; they raised a ruckus at times. Are we justified in writing off the wickedness of our nation as an inescapable fact of life? Go over and read about Sven's frustrating day. He has something to say about that. It seems that the examples left by this great cloud of witnesses encourage us to be bold even outside our churches. Mighty victories await. Of course there are those who were mocked, flogged, imprisoned, tortured, sawn in two, and more. Well…maybe it should just encourage you to be bold.

Me? I’m just gonna sit here and write.

Have fun stormin’ the castle…