A Labor of Love

When you hear the term a labor of love what picture comes to your mind? When I typed “a labor of love” into my search engine the first place it showed me was a childbirth services site. When I looked up the Greek word for labor I found this definition, “a strike (blow) that is so hard, it seriously weakens or debilitates; (figuratively) deep fatigue, extreme weariness (wearisome toil)” I have experienced the labor of childbirth several times and I have found it to be hard, painful and something that caused deep fatigue. The pain of labor was great; the joy of the life it produced was greater still.

Jesus said that if anyone loved him they were to keep his commandments. And what was Jesus' commandment? It was that we love one another in the same way that he loved us. He invited us to deny ourselves take up our cross and follow him to join with him in a labor of love. But Jesus knew that this was not something we could do on our own so he promised to ask the Father is give us a Helper who would be with us forever. A Helper not only to abide with us but in us. Jesus gave us a invitation to labor in love with him and to have life and have it abundantly.

I was a child of the 60's when the question was often asked, “What is love?” When I read the definition given in the Scriptures that love suffers long and is kind I also see a reflection of Jesus. If I try to take the list given in 1 Corinthians 13 and apply it to myself in my attempt to love I am discouraged. The truth is this kind of love does not come natural to me. This kind of love is a labor of self denial and in my attempt to obey Jesus' commandment I find myself seeking the Helper he promised.

When I began to look into this idea of a labor of love that produces life I came across a story of a young woman who as a result of being raped became pregnant. These circumstances would have been difficult enough on their own but when the child was born he was handicapped. Not only did she make the decision to love this child but her husband adopted him and raised him as his own son. This family's life radiated love.

In Les Miserables by Victor Hugo there is a quote that, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” I believe that to labor in love for another person is to reflect the love of God for others to see.

What is a Work of Faith?

I had barely entered my teens when I walked into the living room of the house Kay Arthur was renting in Red Bank, Tennessee. Teaching a room full of teenagers was her work of faith for that summer back in the late 1960's. By the time I was graduating from high school I had contributed to her work by donating my baby-sitting money to help purchase the farm that would become the headquarters for Precept Ministries International. Kay was the first one to teach me that faith that is alive is a faith that is at work. I have watched what began in Kay's living room become a ministry that is being used in nearly 185 countries and 70 languages. However, this is not the only work of faith I have seen.

I have seen people's lives transformed by what they believed. I have known people who were prisoners to habits that were destroying them but when they fixed their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith, they were set free. Often the freedom came when the prison door was opened and they chose not to respond to their fears that seemed to scream, “You have no hope!” but instead they chose to act on the promise of Jesus that said, “Arise and walk, you are free.”

Sometimes our work of faith happens when we have stumbled along the way. Suddenly we find ourselves covered in shame having sinned in a way we never thought possible. Everywhere we look we are reminded of our failures. Again Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith, reminds us that if we confess our sins he is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The work of faith is to humbly say the same thing about our sin that Jesus says and then to stand up. By faith we turn our gaze away from ourselves and towards our savior.

Two women were talking. They had become friends in early adulthood and now were in their seventies. They had each seen the powerful hand of the God they followed. Their walk had taken them to both mountain tops as well as to valleys. Sorrow and suffering had become companions for them along the way. By faith their sorrow and suffering were changed to joy and peace. In the fullness of their experience their spirits have become gentled and quieted by the one whom they follow.

One of the things I pray for every day is that God will show me the good works he has prepared in advance for me to do that particular day. I believe that he has given each person spiritual gifts to use. I believe that one of my gifts is to encourage others in their faith. I have to be honest, sometimes I get discouraged. Sometimes I wonder if my words have any effect at all. If I measure the results of my life by the lives of others I become disheartened. It is a constant choice to turn my eyes to Jesus the author and finisher of my faith and to be strong and courageous and do the work of faith that is given me each day. It is also an act of faith to say, “thank you,” believing that when I asked him to show me the good works he had for me to do that he did.

The Hallway between Time and Eternity

I found myself sitting in Aunt Angie's kitchen. On every wall were snapshots of family and friends. The memories these pictures awoke in me made me feel as if those pictured were still with us.What brought me and many others to this place was the sad news that Aunt Angie's son, my cousin Ryan, had died suddenly. As we gathered together to grieve, to love and to remember it seemed as if time lost its hold on us and we had entered into a hallway between time and eternity.

In this hallway between time and eternity there is a silence and the rush and hurry of the outside world is muffled. Memories live again in this quiet place. Looking at the pictures, the years melt away. Here in the hallway tears flow freely but laughter is also heard.

This is not a place anyone would choose to be. The door to this hallway is grief. Going through this entrance strips away the world's hold on the soul. Here where tears flow freely the eyes of the spirit lose their blindness and eternity comes into view.

There is a truth that is revealed by grief. It is here that we recognize that what is temporal is also temporary like the pictures on the wall. We see ourselves and those we've loved frozen in time. In Aunt Angie's kitchen I saw the picture of her husband, my Uncle Chuck. It was just the way I remembered him. I could almost see him tapping his foot to keep time with the music. In the picture his smile is broad. The music that I heard from the accordion he played comes from a place in my heart where this memory lives.

Caught between time and eternity we become aware that we are not alone. Here where time is silenced our spirits are free to hear the voice of the Ancient of Days. As C. S. Lewis says, "His intervening presence is terribly startling to discover. It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone." What is the message that is given? We find it in the words Jesus spoke during his final time on earth. "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24) Here in the hallway we get a glimpse of eternity.

Just as I am

She brought her petition before the committee. She had a dream, a vision and a need. They had the manpower and the resources. They listened intently as she laid out her plans before them. She had cast a vision and they had caught it but now they needed something more. They needed to know that she was competent for the task and able to carry it out. But when we come to God in prayer these are not the things he requires.

I left that meeting and went to another meeting. Here I encountered another woman. This one came with broken dreams and a broken heart. Those who came to this meeting gathered around her entering into her pain, and hurt, and fears. We came together to present these needs before our heavenly Father.

In the presence of perfect love there is permission to be broken. You do not need to have the answers before you come. Sometimes the burdens that bring us to a place of prayer are so heavy that we are brought to our knees. We come wanting to believe but the sorrows that confront us also expose the weakness of our faith and the strength of our fears. Even so we are invited to come to God in prayer.

We kneel together in silence. No words are necessary. We wait together letting the light of the world shine into the deepest recesses of our hearts. It is here in the presence of the love of God that we have the freedom to admit that there is fear in our hearts for those we love, we acknowledge that we do not have the answers to the questions that haunt us. Positioned before the throne of mercy, we speak the truth that is in our hearts. We lack faith to believe that the concerns that are crushing us have a solution and so we pray, “Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.”

Lord, I have dreams. I want to be so much more than what I am, yet when I come to you I am invited to come just as I am. In the presence of perfect love I have no shame. All of my inadequacies are exposed. I find in your presence the freedom to humbly ask for faith and freedom from fear. In the presence of perfect love I find a peace that passes understanding.

Great Expectation

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." I was a young teenager when I first heard this and I was excited to discover what this kind of life would look like. Many years have passed and I still believe that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life but now I have a deeper understanding of what that means. When I was young I thought it meant a life without pain or suffering.

What I now understand is that the heavenly Father has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. He rescued me from the domain of darkness, and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Through His Son, Jesus, I have redemption, the forgiveness of my sins. Surely, this is a more wonderful plan than my mind could have ever comprehended. But there is something more, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God are at war and now I am part of the conflict.

When the Lord sent Ananias to Paul to tell him about the wonderful plan He had for Paul's life, there was something more to the message. Ananias was to also show Paul how much he must suffer for God's name sake. To be told you were going to suffer could cause anxiety. However, when Paul's eyes were opened so that he could see his part in God's kingdom he was also filled with the Holy Spirit.

Often, fear and anxiety accompany suffering and the unknown. However, Paul was given a cosmic framework in which to live, think and work. He no longer belonged to the night or darkness. He was now a son of light and a son of the day. As Selwyn Hughes puts, he was no longer an "orphan of the universe." He had become part of the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus was finishing His ministry here on earth He told His followers that in this world they would have tribulation. Suffering is not alien to someone who is following Jesus. He never said we would have peace in this world. He said we would have peace in Him. The war between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God has already been won. Jesus overcame the world. So what is this wonderful plan God has for me? I have not only been transferred out of darkness into light but I have, like Paul, been filled with the Spirit of God to speak to a hurting world words of life, words of hope, the message of the Kingdom.

Deep Healing

I had a small spool of ordinary thread in my hand. I asked for a volunteer to help me with my illustration. When the young man joined me in the front of the church I explained that I was going to use the thread to show the power that sin could have in our lives. He held one end of the thread in his hand and as I talked about different sins we allow in our lives I kept circling around him with the thread. The thread was thin and he was strong so he thought he had the power to break the thread whenever he wanted. After letting the thread go round and round about him, he turned out to be wrong. Suddenly there was a look of panic in his eyes. He realized he was immobile and no longer  the master of the thread in his hand. He was paralyzed and afraid.

This morning I read about the paralytic man who was carried to Jesus on the stretcher. His physical need was obvious to others, but Jesus knew the full extent of his need since he knew the deepest secrets of his soul.  He saw his paralysis as well as the hidden threads of sin that held him fast. Jesus' words were kind. The first thing he said was, “Have courage, son.” Why did he need courage? I think he needed courage because fear is natural in the presence of the one to whom our soul is fully exposed and the deepest need of our heart is laid bare. But Jesus brought deep healing when he said, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”

The light of the world shone into the darkness of the man's soul. He spoke words of courage and Jesus did for him what he could not do for himself. He cut the thread that bound him and set his spirit free by telling him he was forgiven. Having received from Jesus deeper healing than his friends expected, he got up, picked up his stretcher and went home.

He Spoke About a Kingdom

They followed him in the same way a flock of sheep would follow their shepherd. He led them to a mountain and taught his followers to pray to the God who is in heaven and call him Father. They were to pray to the Father in heaven and ask that his kingdom come. The one speaking of this kingdom knew about it from firsthand experience. He was with the Father in the beginning and all things had been created through him. He was the word that spoke the world into being. He had become flesh and had taken up residence with those he had created. He who was himself the one and only Son from the Father was inviting his followers into an intimate relationship through prayer.

The angels who had served him in eternity past announced his coming. They had known him in all his glory. They had longed to understand why he, to whom all things were subjugated, would humble himself and make himself lower than the angels. If he had not masked his glory in human flesh, no eye would be able to look upon him because he was the light of the world. Had he not softened his voice, the sound of a mighty rushing wind would have terrified those who heard him speak. Yet he had emptied himself and had come in the form of a servant. His gentle nature caused children to feel safe in his presence.

There was nothing about his appearance that drew people to him, but when he spoke he spoke with an authority they had never heard before. When he spoke about the Father even the oldest one in their midst felt himself young again. The burden of the years lifted from his bowed shoulders and his attention was drawn to the birds of the sky. Guided by the words of Jesus, he saw them now as if for the first time not sowing or reaping but instead being fed by the heavenly Father. While lying on his back watching these beautiful delicate creatures he heard the question, “Aren't you worth more than they are? If your heavenly Father feeds them, can't you trust him to care for you?”

Again the gentle voice of authority spoke to the child inside him, “You are worried, but why? What does your worry accomplish? Look at the wildflowers growing in the fields. Not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If this is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, won't he do much more for you—you of little faith? Again he spoke not only of the Father in heaven, but He also spoke of the kingdom. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33,34)

I went just now into the field. The bare branches of the trees were covered with birds. Suddenly they took flight, soaring above me. I saw no flowers. It's not the right season for flowers but I remember when it was. I smiled at the memory of finding flowers tucked into every nook and cranny of the field. Oh the extravagance of God! Beauty that appears for such a brief moment, whether it is seen or not. It was then I heard his gentle voice speaking to my spirit, “Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

No Fear in Love

It was the eve of a new year and I could feel the thick moist presence of fear. I was held captive and felt smothered as the darkness of my room became like a theater for the nightmare thoughts that paraded through my mind. The flickering tongue of fear painted a grim future not only for me but for all those I hold dear. I found myself involuntarily worshiping at the altar of this specter because the thing I give that much power to causes me to bow my knees. Realizing that on my own I was inadequate for this battle, I cried out to one who is stronger than myself.

How does fear cripple and torment its victims? Fear punishes those held captive by it in the same way a blackmailer shames the one whose secrets he holds. The debt that hovers constantly with the reminder that there are insufficient funds, the guilt that stains the memories, the failure that not only caused personal pain but hurts all those we love - these are fear's implements of torture.

Though the wrestling lasted much of the night, with the first rays of the dawn came the voice of truth. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." (1 John 4:18)  Just as light dispels the darkness, fear cannot abide in the presence of love. Love found me and I stepped away from the shadow of darkness and ran towards the shadow of the Almighty. Enveloped by the Spirit of truth, I bowed in adoration. Just as I had found in Him my hiding place I invited Him to take up residence in my heart.

There is a welcome in God's mercy that silences the voice of fear. Fear like a spider wraps its victim round and round in a sticky thread, but with the voice of thunder the Almighty speaks and sets the captive free. What is God's mercy? What is God's might? The answer can be found in a single word: love. It is this love that paid the debt we owed. It is love that took away our shame and carried it like a cross upon his own back. It is love that entered into our pain so we could enter into his joy.

Love has a name. His name is Jesus.

I Resolve

I resolve to live. I choose to do more than just exist. I resolve to embark on each new day as if it were a gift to be unwrapped. As I fill my lungs with the first conscious breath of the day I lift my spirit to the God of hope and pray, "Breathe on me breath of God." There was a promise given long ago that my life is a result of the handiwork of God, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God prepared in advance for me to do. I resolve to live and empowered by the breath of God to discover what those good works are and do them.

I resolve to see. I am no longer content to simply look at those who are before me. I want to see them. I want to be aware not only of the person but the soul that is shaped by the hand of a loving God. I want to see the dignity of the one before me as one who was knit together by the hands of her creator, fearfully and wonderfully made.

I resolve to listen. I believe within each of us is the desire to know and be known. In my desire to be heard, to be known I have often spoken when I should have been listening. Today I choose to listen with not only my ears but my heart. I will seek to understand the unique strength and beauty of the person in front of me, as well as their tangled thoughts and broken dreams.

I resolve to appreciate what I've been given. If when God was creating the heavens and the earth he declared it good, surely I can look for the fingerprints of the Creator and enjoy the beauty around me. I choose to let the birds, soaring above the earth across the expanse of the heavens each painted with artistic genius and given a unique song to sing, lift my spirit. The splashes of color and the perfumed air created by the flowers I will receive as gifts. With my senses of taste and touch, sight and hearing I will explore the world around me as if I were a child experiencing it for the first time. I choose to receive the world around me as a gift to be opened with a grateful heart.

I resolve to live, to see, to listen, and to appreciate what I've been given, but there's more. I know that the pressures of life could crush me so I resolve to ask the God of hope to fill me with all joy and peace in believing. Because I know I cannot fulfill my resolution in my own strength I choose to submit myself to the power of the Holy Spirit so that I may abound in a confident expectation of good and receive each new day as if it were a gift to be unwrapped.

A Soliloquy of the New Year

As I open the door I am confronted with both the cold and the dark of the morning. Though technically morning has come, the sun has not yet risen. I drape a warm blanket over the chair so that the cold does not seep into my bones and wrapped in warmth, I sit and keep vigil. I am waiting for the dawning of not only a new day but a new year.

I sit with my soul awakened in the cold and dark of this day yet to be born. The darkness is a backdrop for my fears and failures. I shiver in the cold with heart and soul exposed. I am confronted with all that I am and all that I am not, but I am facing the east. I know that though for a little while I may sit in the darkness, soon a light will shine. I know that though now I can only see the blackness, the coming light will bring with it vision.

With the beginning of a new year I turn again to the beginning of God's word. "Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness."(Genesis 1:3,4) Turning my eyes to the eastern horizon I watch as the sun rises, bathing the world around me in its light. In the light of a new day I can begin to see the outline of the trees where only moments before all around me was darkness. Not only will the world around me be bathed in light as the sun begins to dominate the sky, but it will also be bathed in color.

Suddenly, I can no longer look in the direction of the rising sun with my eyes open. I close my eyes but I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my eyelids. The light of the sun penetrates my waiting soul with its healing rays. I sit in silence bringing all my inadequacy to the Sun of Righteousness who rises with healing in his wings. The God of hope replaces the darkness of fear and failures with joy and peace.

I face a new day and a new year with the truth that, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."(John 1:5) With this advent of a new day and a new year I wait with expectation of yet another advent that has been promised. The light of the world promised, "Behold I am coming soon." (Revelation 22:7) And so though days may be filled with darkness, I will keep my vigil with my eyes on the eastern horizon.