Tuesday, September 6, 2011
1 Corinthians 15:58 ... you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
LABORING FOR THE LORD IS WORTH IT!
My son just bought his first car. He likes everything about it except for the rusty rocker panels underneath the doors. He's been outside for the past few days sanding and brushing the rust away. This afternoon he applied a chemical that's supposed to seal the panels against any further corrosion. Later he'll paint them to match the rest of the car. But he knows that the rust will come back sooner or later. So he's not really sure if all his hard work will be worth it.
So many things in life seem to be an effort in futility. This can seem especially true as we labor for the Lord. Pastors can become discouraged as they work with wayward members who never seem to get on track with their church attendance. Sunday School teachers may wonder why they bother preparing lessons when only one or two students show up for class. The Christian may question if sharing his faith is worth it when no one seems to listen to anything he says.
Yet working for the Lord is never wasted effort. First of all, serving our Lord and Savior is a joy in and of itself, even if we don't see any results from what we do. What a joy to serve the God Who loved us enough to sacrifice His own Son for sinners like you and me! Secondly, while we strive to be faithful to what the Lord calls us to do, the results we leave all to Him. Lastly, we remember the Lord promises that His Word will not return to Him empty (cf. Isaiah 55:11). We might not always see the good which comes from sharing the Word, but we can learn to trust the Lord's promise to work through the Word we share.
When you feel discouraged, turn to the Lord for strength to keep faithfully serving Him. He won't fail to help you (cf. Isaiah 41:10). Take heart also in the fact that this sinful world of rust and decay will not last forever. The scarred and loving hands of your Savior God will one day wipe away every tear from your eye (cf. Revelation 21:4). Then your eyes will clearly see that your labor in the Lord was not in vain!
