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.