A Labor of Love

Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
I read an article by Pastor Eric Watkins on the subject of our labor – that toilsome and wearisome work. Life takes work. There is the work of providing for our selves or our families, raising children, improving ourselves and/or serving in our business, community or church to name a few, but no matter how difficult or seemingly meaningless our work appears, it is meaningful to God because it brings Him glory, and for that reason, it is not in vain. It is true that without the resurrection of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, there is no gospel, no hope and no meaning in life, but because of the resurrection, neither our faith nor our work is in vain. It is also that which gives meaning to our lives in the world.

Pastor Eric states that everything, including work, was good before the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, before sin scarred it all. We all bear the mark of Adam’s fall and need to be redeemed by the grace of God; the grace of God that not only triumphs over the curse (Genesis 3:17-19) but reverses it, in order that we might find a blessed joy and satisfaction in our work. Moderate labor contributes to our health. This is the accomplishment of resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

It is to the whole church that Paul says that our work is “in the Lord” , a labor of love and thus not in vain. Perhaps if we would view our work “by faith and not by sight”, not as the world sees but as God sees, we would find joy in it, because we know we were created and redeemed to glory and enjoy God in our work. When we look at our work through the lens of faith, we find joy and meaning as we realize that, though our union with the resurrected Christ, our labor of love is not in vain.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”


In Christ, Brian