Labor of Love

I must confess to getting Labor Day and Memorial Day confused from time to time. I know that one is in May and one is in September. I know that they both involve holiday weekends and are usually accompanied by big sales on mattresses and appliances. But I do not always remember which one comes first on the calendar.

The very first Labor Day was held in 1882 by the Central Labor Union. It involved parades and festivities to allow the public to show their appreciation for the work of the trade and labor unions. It became a federal holiday in 1894, assigned to the first Monday of September. While some parts of the world have Labor Day on May 1 (no wonder I'm confused), the United States chose September to add a federal holiday between July 4 and Thanksgiving Day.

The Bible has a lot to say about labor. In the beginning, when God planted the garden of Eden, he placed Adam and Eve there “to cultivate it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). We were never designed for inactivity. We should want to know what the Scriptures tell us about our responsibilities toward labor.

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20:8). The fourth commandment given to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai was to “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Their work week was patterned after the creation account, when God made the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Having created Adam and Eve on the sixth day, it is quite possible that God rested on the seventh day so that he could commune and have fellowship with them. What a thought to consider that the Creator desired such with His creation! So, enjoy your day off from work tomorrow. But don't forget to spend some time with the Lord and thank Him for your ability to labor and the blessings that come from it.

“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Sin causes weariness to the soul. We strive against God. We do not fulfill our purpose for which He created us. This burdens and weighs us down. Jesus invites us to come to Him for rest. Not rest from laboring in His vineyard, but a rest for our souls. He will relieve our burdens and fit us with a yoke of service, one that is easy and light. Are you laboring under a load of sin? Jesus will give you rest. To try to find relief in some other way is to labor in vain.

“He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need” (Eph. 4:28). Our jobs provide us with the means to support our family and live comfortably. For this we should be thankful and do our work heartily. But the Lord has also given this blessing to us so that we can be a blessing to others. Instead of storing up all the fruit of your labor for yourself, look for ways you can share it with the less fortunate. I am certain there is someone who has a greater need in their life than that new mattress or appliance I want for mine.

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!”' ‘Yes,' says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them'” (Rev. 14:13). Heaven is appropriately described as a “place of rest.” But we cannot expect to rest when we have not labored! How else can we be considered “blessed” or “die in the Lord” unless we have “deeds” that testify of our obedience to Him? By all means, look forward to your reward and the promised sabbath rest that remains. But don't expect to hear “Well done” when you haven't done anything.

“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” (1 Cor. 15:58). Because of Jesus' victory over death, we have every reason to labor through strife and difficulty. Our own transformation from the mortal to immortality awaits. And while we are not told all that eternity holds, one glimpse we are given of the redeemed is that “they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple” (Rev. 7:15). By laboring for the Lord on earth, we are preparing ourselves for serving Him in heaven. Then and now, make it a labor of love.

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