Emanna for 02/20/2021
Work of Faith, Labor of Love and Endurance of Hope (1)
Bible Verses
1 Thes 1:3 Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;
Words of Ministry
[Part 1 of 2]
Our work is our faith. The strength with which we work and the
nature of our work should both be faith. Our Christian work
should be of the nature of faith, not of the nature of human
knowledge, ability, or power.
Work may be something which is not very deep and which may not
be very difficult. Labor, however, is both deeper and harder
than work. When we are doing a work that is difficult to
accomplish, that is a labor. This labor should be of love.
Love is the motivation and the characteristic of our Christian
labor. This means that love is the expression. Our Christian
work eventually becomes a labor, something that is deeper and
more difficult. For this labor, faith alone is not adequate;
we also need love, a love that is lasting.
Raising children is a good illustration of a labor of love.
Mothers know that caring for a child is a labor, not merely a
work. After giving birth, a new mother will have a tender love
for her infant. For a while she will work happily to care for
the child. Eventually, however, that work will become a labor
that presses and exhausts her. Without such a love, she would
not be able to bear the burden of caring for her child over
the years. This love motivates her to care for her child. It
is also the characteristic, the expression, of her labor. This
illustrates that in the Christian life first we have a work of
faith and then this work becomes a labor of love.
[continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry, from Witness Lee, Life- study of Thessalonians, p. 6. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com Comments to: comment@emanna.com.