“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end” (KJV, Heb. 6:10-11).
“For God”
Father, You have been good to me and forgiven me of an outstanding debt. It is hard to express the magnitude of what You have done, for words fall short of the glory of Your grace. You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth. You alone have made salvation possible and sent Your Son as the only name given to men by which they can be saved. There will be no room for boasting in heaven, for salvation is Your Work. You alone will be glorified, magnified, and exalted.
“is not unrighteous”
You are a righteous God and just in all Your ways. You are the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. I thank You for making a way for me to be right with You through the merits of Jesus. Since You are not unrighteous, I can be righteous through my union with Christ. You have given Your law to the world, and the world will be held accountable by Your law. Your law is good, but my righteousness will never be had in it. Only through my identification with Christ will I be seen as righteous.
“to forget”
I thank You that You are a God Who does not forget. You have given Your Word, and I can trust that You will remember Your promises to me. You have told me that You have cast my sins into the sea of forgetfulness. You have said that You have removed my sins as far as the east is from the west. You have promised me that you will never leave me or forsake me, and You have declared that You have sealed my life with the promised Holy Spirit. Therefore, because You are a God Who does not forget and cannot lie, I will rest in your Word and find my hope therein.
“your work”
Father, I pray that You will help me to honor You in my work. Teach me to seek Your face and reveal how I can serve You in this life. You are worthy of my devotion and my time. You are worthy of my dedication and efforts. However, I pray that You would work through me as You did Paul. He tells me that in His ministry, You mightily worked through him, and You gave him the energy he needed to heed Your calling on his life.
“and labour of love”
The author of Hebrews was not only concerned about someone’s work for You but also with highlighting that true work is a labor of love. Paul tells me in the book of 1 Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-2). Thus, the labor of the Christian must be done in love.
The labor of love was commended, not simply the work. It is easy to work. The Pharisees would travel great distances to convert a single person, but their work was not done in love. Instead, it was done for selfish reasons. Help me to love as Christ loved and to honor You in my labors.
“which ye have shewed”
Father, I see that You take note of my work while in the body of Christ. Help me never to forget that You will judge my works in this life when I stand before the Great White Throne. You have told me that if I build upon my foundation with wood, hay, or straw, it will be burned with fire. While I will remain as my foundation is Christ, my work will not last. I recognize that the chief characteristic of my work must be done with love toward You and love toward my neighbor.
“toward his name”
Your name is great; I pray it will be hallowed throughout the land. However, teach me to do more than pray about Your name being hallowed but to display Your name’s greatness in my life, thereby promoting it. I pray that Your name would advance in the land and that Christ would be seen and adored. Teach me Your Gospel, and help me to share Your message. Teach me what it means to be a witness and to have the light of Christ shine through me at all times.
“in that ye have ministered to the saints”
Here I see the author’s focus on ministering. He was pleased to see their ministry toward fellow believers. I pray that You would also help me to see that Your Word talks about more than simply spreading the Gospel. Your Word also tells me that I must be concerned with ministering to other believers. I thank You for Your remembrance of the Christian’s ministry.
“and do minister”
However, I am met with convicting words. Not only had the people ministered to fellow believers, but they were also currently ministering. Help me never to reflect on what I have done and believe I have done enough. Teach me never to succumb to complacency in this life and seek selfish gain.
You have given me more than I deserve. Please help me not to seek more and live for this life. You have told me about eternity, and I must set my gaze upward. There is work to do now that is far greater than my selfish pursuits. I am called an ambassador, servant, and son of God. I am in Christ and have already been seated in the heavenly places. I am merely a pilgrim and sojourner in the land. Show me the realities of my eternal state and cause me to live a life for Your glory.
“And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence”
May my life be characterized by diligence? May earnestness characterize it? Help me to see the seriousness of my walk with You and the work that You have called me to do. Rid me of a slack approach to seeking You and living for Your glory. Please assist me in ridding myself of the sin and the weight that so easily entangles me. Open my eyes so that I might see Jesus and the diligence He exhibited while on the earth. He came down to do Your will and Your will alone. Give me the heart of Christ.
“to the full assurance of hope”
I desire to be assured of my salvation. However, I see that biblical assurance is not for everyone. Nevertheless, assurance can be obtained. The Bible makes it clear that assurance comes by way of faith and a holy life. I cannot be assured of my salvation if my life does not align with the Scriptures, nor should I be content with so much at stake. The author of Hebrews tells me that one of the ways I can examine myself is if I am living for You not only in the past but also in the present.
“unto the end”
But let me never become stagnant or overconfident. Teach me to persevere until the end. The true test about my relationship with You does not come from past events as much as current realities. Please show me that I must be steadfast until the end. Demas was a man who walked with Paul for much of Paul’s ministry. However, in the end, he deserted Paul and returned to the world. Truly the Scripture was fulfilled that Demas went out from Paul because he was not truly a believer. Empower me by Your promised Spirit to remain until the end. In Jesus’ name’ Amen.