And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:1-2, 6

God built the desire for reward into our hearts. He created us with the desire to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:12). Jesus seemed to think that would be something enjoyable for us to hear. Any time we get more spiritual than Jesus, we’re headed in the wrong direction.

God certainly understands what makes us tick. Perhaps no chapter in the Bible illustrates the promised rewards from God better than Hebrews 11. In a chapter that has been titled by some “The Hall of Faith,” the author highlights the lives and contributions of the great men and women of faith in the Old Testament and the rewards God gave them because of their faith in him.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for…. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:1-2, 6

A careful reading of this chapter also reveals that many of these great men and women exercised their faith but were able only to look forward to their reward; they never fully realized that reward during their lifetime. Indeed, some even endured hardship in anticipation of the promised reward (vv. 32-40). “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance” (v. 13). Abraham, Noah Enoch, Jacob, Joseph and Moses all lived a life of faith in spite of the fact that the reward was in the “distance.”

There can be no more compelling motivation for the God-fearing believer than the fact that God himself will be our reward. We will not be absorbed into him, but we shall be immersed in him, into his triune glory and beauty. The rewards God has in store are more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Every Christian will become at last what his desires have made him. We are the sum total of our hungers.

a.w. tozer