Sometimes as a dad, I have to set my children down and have serious talks with them. Maybe they have been misbehaving or not listening, or maybe it is just something that is really important that I need them to understand. In those moments, I am trying to help them see the big picture. I am trying to help them see what is really important and what the consequences will be for not listening and not obeying.
When we come to Hebrews 6, the writer was trying to help those who received this message to grow beyond first principles and to move on to heavier matters. He was trying to shore up their faith so that they had what they needed to grow, endure and be fruitful. Specifically in Hebrews 6:9-12, the writer was encouraging them to continually focus on better things, things of God and salvation. This is something he was convinced was possible. They were a people who had proven that they could work for God and serve others, but just like all of us, they still needed to strive daily to be better. In Hebrews 6:11-12, they were encouraged to “show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (NKJV). Like we see in Hebrews 5 and 6, we all are to be diligent to hear and grow in sound doctrine, to work and serve God daily, and to have a strong faith that will endure to the end. This pattern of life is to be continual and never changing. We are to show the same diligence day in and day out. If there are areas in which we have stopped working or growing, we are to show the same diligence to those things just as we have in the areas in which we have proven to be strong.
This faithful lifestyle is lived so that we can be pleasing to the Almighty God. In Hebrews 11:6, we see that “. . .without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Let us all set as a pattern for our lives to hear and follow sound doctrine, to work and serve God daily, and to have faith that is strong and ready to endure to the end. Let us continue to give the same diligence to God all the days of our lives so that one day we can enter into the eternal home of Heaven on high.
