By Pastor Brandon Young
This past Monday, we celebrated Labor Day, and many of us had the day off from work. We spent time with family and friends relaxing as we basked in the summer sun, and thought about the arrival of autumn. Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September each year. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. It is considered the unofficial end of summer in the United States, and is recognized as a federal holiday. The working man’s labor is celebrated with a day of rest. Comparably, our lifetime of labor for God will be celebrated with an eternity of rest, but we must continue laboring until that day comes. The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the resurrection day at the end of time in 1 Corinthians 15, and he ends that chapter with these words of wisdom, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We are told to always abound in work of the Lord, and then reminded that our labor is never is unproductive, useless, or unrewarded.
Labor or work is not a topic that most folks enjoy, but it is definitely a major part of God’s word! If you look back at the life of Jesus, you will find him working. He assisted his surrogate dad Joseph in the carpenter’s shop, and at age twelve, he was in the temple about his heavenly Father’s business. Jesus worked to heal the sick, and he almost never rested. His disciples were also busy individuals who spent the day promoting the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! I have given much thought on how much work there is to be done just in our county. Jesus said the harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Not too many individuals want to do something. I would love to see that fact change! We must begin to show our faith by our works, and to lead others to Christ, we must show them we care by doing something. Love is labor, not just a bunch of words strung together. God gave his Son to show his love, and we must start to give of our time, talent, abilities, and money to show his love to a world in need of Jesus!
As most of you know, we have families in Carter County living in severe poverty, and we have other individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol. We have children who are truly suffering living in their current home situation, and believe me, Satan never takes a break or vacation. He is constantly stealing, killing, and destroying because he knows he has a very short time. We must decide to do more to reach the broken ones. Acts 20:35 states, “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is the duty and obligation of Christians to support those that are weak, and we must remember that it is impossible to out give God. He will always remember our labor of love.
Colossians 3:23-24 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Everything we do or choose not to do is to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” We must remember that whatever we do for our fellow man is what we are doing for Jesus, and I would encourage each of you to reread Matthew Chapter 25. Many folks seem content looking away from all these issues and problems and doing absolutely nothing, but according to Jesus, we will definitely be held responsible and accountable for what we do and don’t do. Do nothing is absolutely not acceptable!
I believe many are afraid of doing something wrong, but please know that you can’t go wrong by showing love. This love may be in the form of a casserole to a hungry family. It could be raking leaves for someone who is incapable of doing so. It could just be a smile and warm words of encouragement. There are so many ways to labor for the Lord. Some of these ways may seem small and others large to you, but be aware, for those receiving these labors of love, no matter how small, they make a huge difference. We know that Satan never quits working to steal, kill, and destroy. He is persistent and consistent with what he does. We must be the same and work till we take our last breath or once Jesus returns to convince others of their need of Jesus. In the end, we will have our eternal labor day! There remains a rest for the people of God, but be assured the time to rest is not now. We have too much work needing to do done because the harvest is great! Would you join me in making a difference in the lives of those around us?
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton, and his associate, Hunter Greene)