Be Diligent

Hebrews 6:12: "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."


As I have had the opportunity of observing professing Christians in America for most of my life, I have come to the conclusion that the biggest impediment to spiritual growth has not been religious persecution or the lack of resources and opportunity to facilitate one's spiritual maturation; instead, it has been an apathetic spirit toward God and His wonderful grace that He has "lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding" (Ephesians 1:8). And this apathy has been manifest in an indifference to serving the Lord faithfully and obediently.


It seems as if many who label themselves as "Christian" see their tag as a sociological identifier of their religious persuasion. Since America traditionally has been associated with the Christian faith (with many churches being organized and buildings being constructed in the 19th & 20th centuries), a majority of people in our nation have assimilated themselves within the rubric of this "popular religion." Many will identify themselves with Christianity when in fact they have never come to the point of surrendering their lives to the One True Lord of Hosts! There is little intimate fellowship with God through prayer and Bible study, nor is there any association with a collective body of Christian believers in a church, with the possible exception of certain holidays. Serving others before oneself and being obedient to the expressed will of God in Scripture seems foreign to these people, who are ensnared by the cultural philosophy of competitive self-adulation and self-satisfaction at the expense of others.


Whereas there may be a number of determinants for this lack of true faith among these professing Christians, it may very well be that these people have relegated their spiritual experience to a rather insignificant place in their lives. It is as if these people have compartmentalized their alleged faith as a subset of their overall life experience rather than making it the foundation upon which all other areas of life are laid. In reality, these people may not be Christians, for they have continued to worship themselves over the One True God, and they have desired to satisfy their own self-centeredness over their service to the Lord Almighty!

Leon Morris, in his commentary on I Thessalonians has summed up well the true ethos of Christianity when he writes, "Becoming a Christian involves a very definite break with non-Christian habits. Whatever the believers' previous background, there must always be a turning from idols of some sort. The act of conversion involves a change of direction of the will. This is a decisive happening, a reorientation of the whole of life."


Of course, we know that the grace of God is not merited by us (see Ephesians 2:8-9); it is solely the gift of God, to reconcile us to Him through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Still, God does not expect us to treat this gift of grace with contempt by a spirit of indifference. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us not to become lazy, but to "imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." If anyone reading this passage is concerned with how this "imitation" is made manifest, he need only to look at the verses in subsequent chapters of the book of Hebrews. In chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews praises his listening audience for manifesting their hope in their glorious Lord by facing persecution and suffering for their faith. Some of these people were subjected to public insult for their allegiance to Jesus Christ, others had their property confiscated for their faith. Still, they rejoiced in the midst of their painful experiences, for they were strengthened with the assurance that worshiping and serving God was everything. They were also assured that God would redeem His people for all eternity, providing them with a rich reward for their faithfulness to Him.


As the writer of Hebrews implores his audience not to become lazy but to remain diligent in their commitment to the Lord, he uses the illustration of the patriarch, Abraham, as an example for the people to follow. Abraham was summoned by God to move hundreds of miles away from his homeland to a new land. The only assurance that he received from the Lord was the promise that God would bless the patriarch for his faithfulness. Abraham could have chosen to refuse God's offering and instead decided to live his own life according to his own desires. In fact, he could have chosen to forsake any surrender to the Lord and still labeled himself a "follower of God." Of course, this is not what we find with Abraham, for he yielded his own will to the will of His Lord. This surrender was not easy for Abraham. I'm certain that the trek was an arduous one, with many obstacles along the way. The easier path would have been simply to do nothing and in a spirit of laziness just "exist" in life. Abraham's decision to follow the Lord in faith would eventually bring to him the eternal blessings of God's promises.

As we reflect upon our own relationship with the Lord, we have to assess whether or not we have merely labeled ourselves "Christian" or if we are in fact true followers of Christ. We must not be self-absorbed and thus apathetic to the will of the Lord. If we truly are surrendered to Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will yield our own wills to His will. We will follow Him obediently, no matter the personal price, for we know that to obey Him is the least we can to for the Savior of our souls. People are not lazy or indifferent towards those things that they esteem. Let us revere the One True God in such a way that we submit to Him with passion and thanksgiving, knowing that He is everything to us.