Upon receiving a deeper understanding of Hebrews 11:6, “for 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,” I have endeavored to become not only a diligent seeker of God but also a diligent worker! It is imperative that we become both, the diligent seeker and the diligent worker. In the following verse, Jesus gives us a good start in the right direction to becoming a diligent worker. He says that He Himself must work the works of Him who sent Him while there is opportunity, day, for there will come a time when the sun will go down and the day, time for working, will be over! Christ says, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).
In this particular account, Jesus was responding to a question His disciples asked Him after seeing a man who was born blind. Without exception, each of us will come to a place in our lives where there will be a cessation of work. Our daylight will be over, and there will not be time for further work. With this in mind, we must strive to be not only a diligent seeker of Jesus Christ but also a diligent worker! Jesus knew very well that He had only a limited amount of time to finish what God the Father had given Him to do. We, on the other hand, seem to think that we have an eternity to do our work on earth. We, also, have a set amount of time to finish our work as did Jesus and also His Apostles. We must learn from Jesus how to be diligent in our work. His Apostles learned from Him, for He said, “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” (Matthew 11:29). Let us be diligent to learn from our Savior through His example, His Word, His Spirit, and His servants.
We must do our work on earth while it is day! There will be no excuses at the end of our day. God will require of us all He has placed in our hands to do. Jesus had many impediments in His path, yet at the end of His days on earth He said, “Father […] I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:3–4).Jesus finished His work after having faced more impediments than anyone has ever faced! Jesus at the end offered no excuses, will you? I have endeavored to have no excuses at the end of my journey. When I think of Christ Jesus who was born in a stable, He had as his bed a feeding trough. Though king of the universe, not one dignitary attended His birth, only shepherds, common people. A wrathful king tried to kill Him soon after He was born. He was taken to a foreign nation, Egypt, to escape being killed. Shortly after He began His ministry, His forerunner, John the Baptist was beheaded, murdered by an ancestor of the one who had sought His life. He, Israel’s Messiah, ministered the Word of God and the reality of God to a nation who was fierce and hostile to the God who had delivered them from Egypt approximately 1,500 years prior. They showed their hostility toward God by rejecting and plotting to kill His Son. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Herodians were His constant enemies but became coworkers in opposing the work of the Son of God. He, nevertheless, was unwavering in spite of opposition. Jesus had a work to do. He remained faithful to His Father who sent Him. We, likewise, should be faithful as Christ was faithful. Being faithful to His Father and the work the Father had given Him, led to His death! Although He knew this work would lead to His death, He finished His course with joy! You and I have the same opportunity and Helper to finish well. Jesus was never preoccupied, nor worried about “many things” as we often are! He stayed focused on what He had been given! As Christ said to Martha, Lazarus’s sister, you are encumbered and worried about “many things,” but one thing is needful. If you and I are to be diligent workers, we must hold on to the one thing that is needful. I offer to you, that your life is not your own, your life belongs to the One who died for you on that cruel and rugged Cross! And on that rugged Cross, we see the greatest diligent worker the earth has ever seen. He is your example! He is your pattern of The Diligent Worker!
Seeking to Be Like Him,
Pastor Don