A Labor of Love

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 3rd of September, 2023, Labor Day weekend, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Tomorrow is the first Monday in September, which means it’s Labor Day here in the US.  An act of Congress in 1894 set aside this day as a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.  And as a federal holiday, Labor Day is a day off for many people.

Nowadays, we treat Labor Day as the end of summer, or at least of summer vacations.  It’s a day for backyard cookouts and leisure time at the lake, or that last trip of the season to the beach.  So we recognize the American worker by giving them a day off, or at least that’s the idea.

I believe it’s fair to say we’ve all worked at some point in our lives, whether for gainful employment or just at some task that needed to be done.  We’ve all labored, and if we were blessed, we labored at a job we enjoyed.

But that’s not true of every task, nor every job.  Some we’ve had to take on were downright unpleasant, but had to be done.  We’ve done work because we were paid to, we’ve done work because we wanted to, and we’ve done work because there was no one else to do it.  We’ve all worked, and many times without a day off, or any form of recognition, or even thanks.

How much thought have you given to all that Jesus did while He lived among us as a man?  Do you think of His time here as “work”?  Well, He was assigned a job to do here by His Boss, His Father God.  Think about it…

He walked everywhere, with one exception we know of being when he rode into Jerusalem on a small donkey.  He spent all His time teaching and preaching and healing people of all kinds of diseases and infirmities.  Even when He'd sit down to eat a meal or to try to rest, people would clamor around seeking His help, hanging onto every word He spoke.  The only moments He could get some alone time was when He went off by Himself to pray to God.

The day that Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple was pretty much a typical day for our Lord.  He healed three or four people, gave a little lesson to some Pharisees and another to a couple of disciples of John the Baptist, even restored a young girl back to life.  Yep, just a typical day at work.

Follow along and hear what happened next as recorded in verses 35 through 38 of chapter 9 of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

--Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for sending Your own Son to work here on earth with the job of washing us clean of our sin.  For Him, this was a labor of love – His love for You and Your love for us.  Thank You, Father, for giving us the chance to be saved and live with You forever.  Thank You for showing us such great, undeserved mercy.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we take Your love and Your blessings for granted.  Too often we fail to carry out the task we’ve been assigned.  We hesitate out of fear, we procrastinate because we’re too busy with other things.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us be better servants, better laborers in Your field.  Keep reminding us of how everything Jesus did was done out of love.  Please shield us from all those who serve Satan and carry out his wicked deeds here on earth.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us what task You would have us perform, what job You want us to do.  And then, dear Father, help us carry out that task to completion in a loving manner.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Philosopher Howard A. Stein once wrote in Reader's Digest, “A retired friend became interested in the construction of an addition to a shopping mall.  Observing the activity regularly, he was especially impressed by the conscientious operator of a large piece of equipment.  The day finally came when my friend had a chance to tell this man how much he'd enjoyed watching his scrupulous work.  Looking astonished, the operator replied, ‘You're not the supervisor?’”

I guess the operator never read these words and wisdom of C. S. Lewis from his book, The Weight of Glory:  “The work of a Beethoven, and the work of a charwoman, become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord.'  This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies.  A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow.”

How often does it backfire on us when we assume something, when we make an assumption?  In the case of the crane operator, his assumption that his supervisor was watching led him to be more diligent in his work, which we would see as a good thing but to him may have required extra, even unnecessary, effort.

We who believe don’t have to make the mistake the operator made, for we know that our Supervisor is always watching.  God is always watching us, in everything we do.  Are we humbly going about His business, or are we looking for personal recognition or gain alone?

Mr. Lewis points out what our Bible tells us, that anything we do, any job we take on, we should do it as though for the Lord, and not for humans.  Whether we are a composer of great music, or a sweeper of floors, whatever we do we should do for God and to His glory.

Like I said, it was just a typical day for Jesus.  Now we know He had compassion for all the people because He healed them everywhere He went.  He cast out evil spirits, even raised the dead back to life, and all because He cared; He cared for God’s creation.

On this particular day, though, Jesus looked out on the multitude that had gathered and He saw how lost they appeared.  They were tired, not just physically from their travels but spiritually, burdened by all the cares of the world.  They were unfocused, with no real direction other than getting through the day.  They were like sheep without a shepherd – scattered and wandering all around with no true sense of where to go, or why to go there.  And Jesus was moved with compassion.

Remembering that He was a human being in the flesh at the time, with human needs and human frailties, I think it conceivable that Jesus could not physically see to the needs of all the people everywhere, neither their physical needs nor their spiritual needs.  Yes, He is God and He could have just snapped His fingers and made everyone on earth whole and saved them all at once, but then there would be no need for faith or belief.  And besides, that wasn’t the job He was given.  Plus, He knew that His time on earth would be short and that there would be plenty more people in all the years to come that would still need to be ministered to.

So He told His followers to pray to God for more helpers.  “The harvest is plentiful, there are many, many more lost souls out there that need our help, so pray that the Master of the harvest sends more helpers out into His field.”

Jesus, working for God and doing God’s will, did not want to see anyone lost, neither this particular day, nor later, after He was executed and returned to life to walk among us again.  During that brief span before He ascended back into heaven, Jesus appeared to His followers a couple times and to over 500 people in all.  Not everyone believed when they were told of His resurrection.  Listen to one particular incident the Apostle Mark recorded for us in chapter 16 of his Gospel account, verses 14 through 16...

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

--Mark 16:14-16 (NKJV)

This is our job assignment, the Great Commission.  We are to go out and do as Jesus did, preaching the Good News of salvation through Christ and telling the whole world about Him.  If they believe, we will baptize them and they’ll be saved.  If they can’t believe, if they refuse to believe, then they are condemned by their own disbelief.

Now since this is our job, we must be sure to do it for God, and not for humans or human reasons.  Our work must be pleasing to God.  We must labor for the right reasons, for righteous things, always focusing on the things of heaven.  In chapter 6 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 19 through 21, Jesus tells us…

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

--Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)

If we are truly doing God’s work, we’re not looking for earthly rewards or recognition.  We know our rewards are being held for us in heaven.  And we should have no concerns about overworking, not at this job.

Looking again to Matthew’s Gospel account, chapter 11 verses 28 through 30, Jesus reassures us by saying…

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

--Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

As we labor for the Lord, the world will definitely resist us and will try to overburden us, wanting us to quit, to give up our efforts.  Jesus promises to lighten our load and give us rest.  He loves us, God loves us, and while He expects us to work for Him, He wants us to love our work.  For a labor of love is really not work at all.

Let us be the answer to that early prayer.  Let’s be laborers in our Lord’s harvest.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave His all for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for having pity on us, for having mercy on us.  Thank You for Your many blessings in our lives.   And most of all, thank You for giving us the faith to believe in Jesus as Your Christ, Your Son.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to carry out the work Jesus assigned us, when we hesitate to go out among the lost, telling them all about Your Son.  Forgive us when we get too wrapped up with the things of the world and lose our focus on the things of heaven.  Forgive us when we neglect the needs of others, when we shun others just because they are different, when we let hatred overshadow our hearts.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us remember how much compassion He showed while He walked among us.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You set the example for us to follow.  We carry Your name into the world, so we should also carry Your life as our own way of living, so that all might see You in how we act and in what we do.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving of Yourself for us, for having such great compassion for us.  Please forgive us when we fail to give of ourselves for others.  Forgive us when we don’t carry out the job You gave us to the very best of our ability.  We pray, Lord, that You please help us work for the right reason, that our labor be righteous.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all traps and snares he lays in our path.  Help us see though his temptations.

Lord Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.