In Hebrews 11:6(NKJV) tells us, “6 But 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’d like to focus on the last part of this verse for just a bit. The bible is a spiritual book written to and for spiritual people. Its most basic and essential lesson is to teach us about God, so that we can build a relationship with Him through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 has always been a verse that stands out because it informs us of a very important aspect of God’s nature. It tells us that He is a Rewarder. A rewarder by definition is someone who awards gifts in recognition of another’s efforts, services, or achievements. For us, this is good news indeed.
As spiritual people in Christ, it is important for us to always keep in the forefront of our minds that the journey we are on is a never-ending one. God has given each of us the gift of free-will choice, and through this gift we are placed in a position to make an extremely monumental decision. Romans 6:23 makes the choices, and the consequences, in this decision as plain as day. This verse tells us, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Notice that two sides are presented in Romans 6:23; the first one ends in death. It’s hard to believe, but more people choose the side of sin and death than they do the latter. It is fairly obvious that the second choice is a winner, but only a small number of individuals have the spiritual vision to actually see it this way.
The first choice, the one of sin and death, is a cursed zone. The complexities of this choice are hidden in the fact that at first glance, it looks like a choice that offers pleasure and riches; but those are only cloaks that masquerade its deadly consequences. 2Corinthians 4:4 (NLT) tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” Most people are blinded by the darkness of the deceiver. This makes them unstable in all of their ways, and they don’t realize that they are walking into a trap.
The second choice is the blessing zone. It’s a choice of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. This one, of course, is a no brainer, but not everyone sees it this way. Again, in Hebrews 11:6, God tells us that He is a Rewarder. Heavenly Father began rewarding us right off the bat. In Genesis 1:26, He gave Adam dominion and authority in the earth. Adam did nothing to earn these rewards. Heavenly Father wanted to set the precedent early on and demonstrate His intention to lavish abundant love on His children as a way of cementing the relationship He wants with us. He’s a Rewarder! It’s what He does.
God etched in stone the reality that rewards are a part of relationship. Do we get this? I hope so. It’s essential! God set this up, not us. The thing that we can’t get twisted is the fact that, when it comes to order of importance, relationship comes before rewards. We can’t make the mistake of inappropriately prioritizing the two.
In Genesis 1:28 (NLT), God piled on more blessing. This verse tells us, “Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” If this isn’t a blessing zone, I don’t know what is; but we have to remember that sin had not entered the picture yet. Adam and Eve were still in that blessed state of holiness. They operated under an open heaven, where all of their needs were taken care of, and everything needed to complete the tasks that God has given them was provided.
There was no strife involved. They didn’t have to struggle and strive to multiply, govern, and reign. Everything in the earth cooperated and obeyed them because they were perfectly aligned with God’s Will and purpose.
This blessing and Word that God spoke over Adam and Eve applies to us. Their sin transferred them out of the blessing zone and into the cursed zone, but Jesus Christ put us right back in the blessed state where God intended us to be all along. Romans 5:15(NLT) tells us, “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”
God called us to multiply—increase, govern, and reign. He’s challenging our faith to increase so that we will line up with the blessing zone He has spoken into existence and commanded; we ought to refuse to accept less. Through the finished work of Jesus, we have been redeemed from the curse. We are no longer in the cursed zone, so we have to ask ourselves why we keep trying to go back there? We have received eternal life by salvation, and we’re in the blessing zone of our Great Big Wonderful God!
Our earth experience is a drop in the bucket, and the bucket is so large that it will never fill to capacity. The goodness and glory of the Rewarder is so humungous, that even eternity isn’t long enough for Him to lavish His blessings on us. He needed Christ to redeem us so that He could spend an eternity showing us how much He loves us. Glory Hallelujah! We’re the apple of His eye. Adam’s and Eve’s sin closed heaven for us. They turned their backs on God’s holiness and bowed to the one who curses. Jesus Christ opened the heavens for us.
In biblical times, there was a veil in the tabernacle separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exo 26:33). God’s glory was in the Most Holy Place where the Mercy Seat and the Arch of His Covenant were kept. But when Jesus Christ gave his life for us, this veil was torn into from the top down. Matthew 27:50-51 (NLT) tells us, “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart.” When this happened, no longer was there a separation between us and God. Christ opened the heavens for us and they remain open until this day.
Through Jesus Christ, God restored us to the rightful place that He had intended for us all along. This is the blessing zone, and you and I are in it! Praise the Lord! We made the choice to be on the side of Jesus Christ, and it’s the right choice! In John 15:7(NLT), he said, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” This is the promise. Apart from him we can do nothing, but through Christ, we’re in the blessing zone. God has already provided a way through our precious Lord for us to multiply, increase, and reign in life evermore! All that’s left for us to do is to have faith, and believe it! ■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Blessing Zone” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.