Always Give Yourself Fully To The Work Of The Lord

I couldn’t believe that this was the same guy from three years ago. Maybe that labor in the Lord was not in vain, although at the time it felt like it was. It’s nice when God pulls back the curtain, and lets you see something good. And even when he does it, his word is still true – your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Remember, your labor is “in the Lord.” God had a plan, God had a time table, God has a purpose – This is his work, not mine. It’s all “in the Lord.” While touring Italy, a man visited a cathedral that had been completed on the outside only. Once inside, the traveler found an artist kneeling before an enormous wall upon which he had just begun to create a mosaic. On some tables nearby were thousands of pieces of colored ceramic. Curious, the visitor asked the artist how he would ever finish such a large project. The artist answered that he knew how much he could accomplish in one day. Each morning, he marked off an area to be completed that day and didn’t worry about what remained outside that space. That was the best he could do; and if he faithfully did his best, one day the mosaic would be finished.

We are all part of a giant mosaic that God is putting together. Each one of us has a small area in which we work, and we can’t always see the big picture. The big picture is that this is God’s love, and how he chooses to show it to me is up to him to decide. I will trust that my contribution to God’s mosaic is not in vain.

A seminary professor spoke to our class about this passage one day. He told us how it inspired him and kept him going in his ministry. He told us how he had set up his computer – his screen saver – so that across the screen, when it wasn’t being used – the words would sweep by, “Not in vain. Not in vain”

My dear friends in Christ, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Amen.