Labor of Love
What do you think of when you think of love? Is it sweaty palms, a flutter of your heart, a warm and fuzzy feeling? Or maybe it’s being sick at your stomach, ready to hurl? As I lay in bed unable to sleep, I listen to the song Labor of Love. It is all about Mary and Joseph and the Love they brought into our world so many years ago. It was all but warm and fuzzy!None of the circumstances were right to bring a baby into this world. It was cold, cobblestone floor, no relatives to support Mary or Joseph, no warm bed, just a shed, not really even a barn. For Mary it was a labor of love. In life we are too ready to give up when love becomes labor. We are all about warm and fuzzy.But real love, true love, is a full time job and its hard. It doesn’t happen overnight and it takes a lifetime to nurture and protect. Sometimes you have to labor.You have to do things you don’t want to do! You may say, but I didn’t sign up for that! Do you think Jesus signed up for the Cross? Wouldn’t He have rather said let’s do a warm and fuzzy? But no, He did the ultimate Labor Of Love. He died for us!None of His life from beginning to end was without labor but it was full of love.And through His brief stay here on earth, He showed us how to love. Gave us examples. This is how you do it! Not by warm and fuzzys but by laboring! We have to act! Our actions are to speak louder than our words! If we love someone then do something about it, don’t just speak it. Shovel their drive way, visit them when they can’t get out, take them a hot meal, and if you can’t do anything else pray for them! Prayer is powerful! It moves mountains and has moved many of my mountains! If someone you know is sick, go visit and ray with them. More often than not that is the medicine they need! Faith is a wonderful thing. Without it I could have checked out long ago! There would be nothing left in life for me! No faith, no Hope. But my God is merciful and gracious! He offers us His mercy and grace, just for asking! At Christmas time, people lose hope. Because sometimes commercialism just gets in the way! It brings out the ugly and the nasty in people. My prayer for you all this Christmas is that you all labor a little!Labor for those you love. go the extra mile. Offer yourself for someone! That’s what they really want for Christmas! They want you! Your heart that flutters in your chest, your sweaty palms, your warm and fuzzies! You will be amazed at where that labor will take you! If you are stuck in a marriage, a relationship, children, church family, it doesn’t matter a little labor on your part will bring it to life and love will heal it all and it will grow into something beautiful. Something- everything - God intended for it to be! Don’t disappoint Him.Don’t disappoint yourself. Your labor of Love will bring forth great and wondrous things.
2 Corinthians 4:12
So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
1 Thessalonians 1:3
We remember before our God and father your produced by faith, our labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Love prompts the labor, endurance inspiried by hope
Jesus Christ prompts my labor. He is my endurance, my HOPE
What do you think of when you think of love? Is it sweaty palms, a flutter of your heart, a warm and fuzzy feeling? Or maybe it’s being sick at your stomach, ready to hurl? As I lay in bed unable to sleep, I listen to the song Labor of Love. It is all about Mary and Joseph and the Love they brought into our world so many years ago. It was all but warm and fuzzy!None of the circumstances were right to bring a baby into this world. It was cold, cobblestone floor, no relatives to support Mary or Joseph, no warm bed, just a shed, not really even a barn. For Mary it was a labor of love. In life we are too ready to give up when love becomes labor. We are all about warm and fuzzy.But real love, true love, is a full time job and its hard. It doesn’t happen overnight and it takes a lifetime to nurture and protect. Sometimes you have to labor.You have to do things you don’t want to do! You may say, but I didn’t sign up for that! Do you think Jesus signed up for the Cross? Wouldn’t He have rather said let’s do a warm and fuzzy? But no, He did the ultimate Labor Of Love. He died for us!None of His life from beginning to end was without labor but it was full of love.And through His brief stay here on earth, He showed us how to love. Gave us examples. This is how you do it! Not by warm and fuzzys but by laboring! We have to act! Our actions are to speak louder than our words! If we love someone then do something about it, don’t just speak it. Shovel their drive way, visit them when they can’t get out, take them a hot meal, and if you can’t do anything else pray for them! Prayer is powerful! It moves mountains and has moved many of my mountains! If someone you know is sick, go visit and ray with them. More often than not that is the medicine they need! Faith is a wonderful thing. Without it I could have checked out long ago! There would be nothing left in life for me! No faith, no Hope. But my God is merciful and gracious! He offers us His mercy and grace, just for asking! At Christmas time, people lose hope. Because sometimes commercialism just gets in the way! It brings out the ugly and the nasty in people. My prayer for you all this Christmas is that you all labor a little!Labor for those you love. go the extra mile. Offer yourself for someone! That’s what they really want for Christmas! They want you! Your heart that flutters in your chest, your sweaty palms, your warm and fuzzies! You will be amazed at where that labor will take you! If you are stuck in a marriage, a relationship, children, church family, it doesn’t matter a little labor on your part will bring it to life and love will heal it all and it will grow into something beautiful. Something- everything - God intended for it to be! Don’t disappoint Him.Don’t disappoint yourself. Your labor of Love will bring forth great and wondrous things.
2 Corinthians 4:12
So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
1 Thessalonians 1:3
We remember before our God and father your produced by faith, our labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Love prompts the labor, endurance inspiried by hope
Jesus Christ prompts my labor. He is my endurance, my HOPE
No comments:
Post a Comment