Labor Day? Labor Of Love For Christ’s Sake

1^st Thess.1:3] Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

[4] Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

[5] For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

[6] And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

Throughout time, man has displayed the act of love in many different ways, and methods. Man shows love towards his children differently than he does his neighbor, and his love for his neighbor differently than a stranger. But man’s way of love cannot compare to the love that God desires that we operate upon. Not only does God wants us to know that His Love is selfless, but He desires that we too would operate upon His selfless love towards others, and also understand what it means to be a living sacrifice for Christ’s sake. And because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was a Living Sacrifice, we too are ‘beseeched’ to walk in His selfless ensample. And that type of love is perfect, and the “Greater love” that the Lord Jesus Christ lived by, and this godly love ‘simulates’ God’s love, and consists of the Saint ‘laying down his life’ for Christ’s sake. God knows that not all Saints are going to desire to “lay down” the things of this world that he has loved his whole life, but a faithful Saint who desires to “live godly” for Christ’s sake would.

John 15:13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Rom.8:28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

[29] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Furthermore, it is Christ’s “greater love” that we are educated in, not only in the Power when we became justified unto eternal life by the gospel as Paul says in 1^st Corinthians chapter 1:18. And we who are saved, it “is the power of God,” but we are also taught by God that His Power is shown in us by His Word working effectually within us. And one of the ‘greatest’ aspects of godliness is taught unto us by Him, and that is the selflessness of His “great love wherewith He loved us.” And it is by this love that we are taught to bring forth fruit unto holiness, and to labor together with Him. And once we see understand and appreciate the “hope of our calling” doctrine which we are “called” unto, we can now “labor” in His will and Word for His sake, this is what Paul means by the Thessalonian Saint’s labor of love. And just as Paul labored for Christ’s sake, and for their sake, the Thessalonian Saints also became followers of Paul and the Lord. This “labor” was well pleasing unto God. They saw their the persecutions being done unto their own countrymen, and unto the Apostle Paul, and the Disciples, and they desired to also be “partakers of the afflictions of the gospel of Christ.”

Rom.8:35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

[36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

[37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Moreover, walking in His great love is what our Father desires that is well pleasing unto Him, but much more; we can “abound yet more and more” in His love. And this is when we begin to labor together with Him by our selflessness in the faith For His sake, and the sakes of the members of His Body for edification. And notice Paul says we are “killed all the DAY long,” God desires that there will be nothing that will separate us from operating upon His selfless love as sons. And that is ‘day in day out’ so to speak, and in order to be “more than conquerors,” there will also be laboring associated with those “things” that the Saints will endure for Christ’s sake. And as this world celebrates ‘days’ like ‘labor day,’ our Father desires those who also desire the ‘hope of their calling’ to not just be ‘just justified,’ but that they would be part of Our Father’s ‘workforce,’ and His ‘union.’ But our labor should never be looked upon as ‘labor for reward,’ because that would be for ‘our sakes,’ and the Saint that is operating upon godliness knows that his Father, and the Lord’s love is selfless for our sakes, so how could we think they would want us to labor with them with our own sakes in view. True godliness doesn’t account for your own sake in view, but for the sakes of others, we ought to walk in, and labor day by day in this great love of our Father Who first loved us.

Rom.12:9] Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

[10] Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

1^st Cor.2:9] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Rod Jones