Labour of Love
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister
(Hebrews 6:10, NKJV)
All of us have an innate need for love, being loved by another person and loving back. The emotion that love gives us encourages, empowers and gives us the confidence to step out. The comfort and security that comes from a shared loving relationship is one that gives hope for a brighter day and a sense of worth. True love of one to another, is a reflection of the relationship that God desires to have with His creation and it is no wonder that it gives us such comfort and hope. Unfortunately, there are situations where a person loves another but this love is not reciprocated. This causes endless pain for the one who loves, while at the same time, the one unwillingly loved feels disappointed, frustrated and at times haunted by the lover. Whichever way one would look at it, the two individuals face some level of discomfort either way, one suffering from unaccepted love and the other seeking to push away the idea of being loved by the specific individual. This is an unfortunate situation which strains both individuals emotionally. Thankfully, most people experience their love reciprocated and therefore get to know the beauty of the relationship.
It is fair to say that when we love another person, even in family love as of a parent and a child, we happily give of ourselves to the other person, we give our time and our resources. Our focus is on making the other person not only happy but also successful. When we are doing acts of love, we do not count it as a burden or as labour, for to most of us labour is work, it is a chore. Labouring is what we do through our sweat and in return we have an expectation for payment, favours and other forms of return. Many people do not like their jobs and the chores they undertake, yet for the money and pay that they get, they give in to the labour. This is not the same when we do acts of love, we are not forced to do it and the truth is that, we are willingly serving the other person as an expression of our love for them. Beloved, reading our reference, one would consider a contradiction where we use the word love and labour in the same sentence, I stopped at the phrase, ‘labour of love’. While I had never looked at acts of love and service as labour, it was also clear to me that the reference was to God. When we serve God in whichever capacity, we do not have the same carnal expectation that we hold for our fellow human beings. It is also true that at times, serving God is not always convenient, yet it still remains rewarding and satisfying. When missionaries go to remote places and lose their lives, they are moved by their love of God to serve. Giving of resources is also not always from abundance but from faith, and we do so motivated by our love for God. There are many other examples we can look at, and it is clear that our love for God is strong enough to move us to obey God even when it is not necessarily humanly convenient. Our Lord Jesus came to earth and died for us out of love (1 John 4:10) and no wonder we are reminded that He bore the pain of it all because He kept His eyes on the joy set ahead (Hebrews 12:2). Brethren, love is not always convenient but we do what is required when we know what is right to do, that is obedience (James 4:17). We are encouraged to know that God is a rewarder of all who faithfully serve Him, He is not a debtor to any man. Jesus confirmed this to Peter that all who have followed Him would be rewarded a hundredfold and also receive eternal life (Matthew 19:27-30). May the assurance that God is not unjust to ignore our sacrifices of love to Him, give us the strength to continue loving Him even when it is inconvenient.
Thoughts:
What is your reflection of the term ‘ labour of love’?
Do you have a memoir of serving God despite circumstances?
How has God rewarded you for labouring in His vineyard?
Are there areas you have failed to serve God due to the inconveniences?