Diligently Seeking

One of my favorite passages in all the Bible and one that I remind myself of often is this:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him.

-- Hebrews 11:6

I love the idea that God rewards those who diligently seek him! It's not that God will allow us to come close to him when he's in the mood, or if we've been super-obedient lately, or if we've hit 7 out of 7 quiet times with him this week, or we go to the right church, come from the right family, read the right Bible version, or hold the right theological distinctives.

He rewards those who believe that he exists and diligently seek him.

It's that plain and simple. The Creator of this universe, who has always existed and will always exist, whose plan for the universe will come to pass when he is ready, tells us that he rewards us if we purposefully, deliberately, intentionally, go looking for him. And what does this reward look like?

The reward is himself.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

-- Jeremiah 29:13