Heb 11:6 (Faith and Seeking God)

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. - Heb 11:6

According to the writer of Hebrews, there are two conditions that must be met before someone will seek after God.

First: belief that He exists. If someone does not believe God exists, then they cannot possibly seek after Him. No one spends time investing into something they think is fake or illusory.

Second: belief that He is a rewarder of all who seek Him. Or, in other words, that God is good; that coming to God is truly a good thing not only for Him, but for us as well.

If someone does not believe these two premises, they will not seek after God.

Many people believe God exists, but they do not seek after Him because, deep down, they don't believe God is truly good. Even the demons believe in God's existence - and shudder at the thought. Belief in God's mere existence is not enough.

For many people, it is natural to want to prove that Christianity is true. They want to intellectually convince people that following Jesus is the right thing to do.

But this is only effective if the person we are engaging with already believes Truth to be something worth seeking in the first place. But the reality is that most people don't actually desire Truth. They are afraid of it.

Even if it were possible to "prove" to people that Christianity is true (which - in terms of mathematical proof - it is not) this would still not be enough for most people to accept it. They must be convinced that Christianity is good.

No one can find what they do not seek. And no one will seek what they don't hope to find.

Our main obligation as Christians is to abide in Christ. It is to seek first His Kingdom. It is to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him. It is to let His light shine so that people may see our lives and give glory to God. All of these things are just different ways of saying the same thing: as Christians our main priority is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

When we make our main priority spreading the gospel and not living the gospel, we lose our ability to effectively spread the gospel. We make Christianity about a set of doctrines to be intellectually agreed upon rather than about a transformed life. When we live a transformed life, spreading the gospel happens whether we try to do it or not.

The tree does not convince the animals through rigorous debate to spread its seeds to surrounding areas. It simply produces tasty fruit. And the animals, who enjoy tasty fruit, naturally come and eat of it, thereby spreading the seeds contained within that fruit far and wide.

It is only by making union with Christ our top priority that we can manifest the Fruit of the Spirit. And it is only by manifesting the Fruit of the Holy Spirit that other people will want to believe that Christianity is true. And only when they want to believe Christianity is true will they seek to find out if it is true.

And when they embark on the journey to discover the Truth for themselves, they will arrive at only one destination, and that is Jesus Christ.

O give thanks unto the Lord,

for he is good,

for his mercy endures forever.

Psalm 136:1