Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15-16
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” – John 6:27
I was watching a television program about one of the battles in the South Pacific during World War II. I had been in that particular battle and fought alongside the men shown in the film. As I watched, it brought to mind an official document I’d read several years before. This document analyzed the battle from the moment we hit the beach until the island was secured. When I got to the last paragraph, I read something that made me ill. In fact, I became so shaky I got out of my chair and sat down on the floor.
The government’s conclusion was that the battle had accomplished nothing of strategic importance. It had been a mistake. I could see in my mind those hundreds of slain Marines, as well as hundreds of young Japanese soldiers, who had died in vain in a battle that didn’t really matter.
Right then, the Lord brought a verse to my mind: “Therefore, my dear brothers, 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” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
It may seem to you today that you’re banging your head against a brick wall, that nothing is going right in the Sunday school or women’s ministry or men’s brotherhood. But let me encourage you to stay at it. When you put in your eight hours on the job, having worked as unto the Lord, it is not in vain. When you reach out to your friends and family with the gospel, even if they refuse to listen, it is not in vain. Why? Because the Bible says that whatever you are doing for Christ matters.
Prayer
Lord, I rejoice that because of my relationship with You, even the most insignificant task has meaning and purpose. Amen.
To Ponder
Our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
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