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Good morning, Saints, and Happy Labor Day weekend! In some ways, Labor Day marks the closing of summer and the beginning of fall. Albeit still warm, the evenings are cooling down, and you can almost smell fall in the air. Fall means back to work, back to school, back to routine, fall sports, MLB playoffs, NFL football season, fall plantings (for you gardeners), and of course, long-awaited meals in crockpots simmering while we are at work, only to enjoy when we return home (you can almost smell that too!).
Thinking about the upcoming Labor Day stirred my thinking about a few things. First, what a gift of God toil is for us. Second, the importance of vocation and the challenges our youth face understanding each, toil (meaning simply good old-fashioned hard work) and vocation (as Martin Luther would say, responding to God’s call wherever we are in life)...and last, the importance of God’s design for rest. Today’s devotion is dedicated to exploring these from a Christian perspective.
The Lord serves as the role model for labor and Labor Day, a day of rest from labor. In Genesis 1 and 2, we remember: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth” (Genesis 1:1). By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day, He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because He rested from all the creating work He had done (Genesis 2:2-3). The Bible is chock-full of examples of God’s people serving Him for His purposes: Moses, David, Joseph, Ruth, and many more doing His work (His handiwork, Ephesians 2:10) for His purposes.
I worry a bit about how our youth view toil. It certainly seems like a different kind of a four-letter word to them - and not a good one. Listening to the world, they may be hearing a different message about hard work, labor, and toil. These voices caution against such an endeavor as toil. In fact, most voices aim to promote a “do not work much and make more money” attitude. I worry that they are being robbed of the value of hard work, a value that helps build confidence, satisfaction, worth, joy, and yes, contentment, as King David says in one of our scripture passages from Ecclesiastes above.
I have been blessed in many ways to have had many role models who understand the blessing of hard work. My maternal grandfather, whom I called Punka, was a diesel mechanic in central Nebraska (Lexington, NE) and was well-known to area farmers. I was blessed to work in the summers alongside him in his shop and in the field. Days began at 5:45 a.m. as he opened up at 6:00 a.m. (if we weren't 15 minutes early, we were late, he always said), and we worked until 3:00 p.m. Afterward, we often went fishing together. He was one of the first in the area to go into the farmers’ fields, diagnose what was wrong with a tractor, and fix it in the field if possible, avoiding the time it might take for a farmer to load up their tractor and bring it into the shop. I learned a lot from Punka, but most of all how to work hard and serve others. After Punka retired, he opened his home shop for smaller jobs for town folk and worked there until he died. Punka viewed his work as a blessing to his family and to others.
Toil is a gift to man from God - being joyful and doing good as long as we live (Ecclesiastes 3:13). It’s not a temporary one-time gift; it’s a lifetime gift - one that keeps giving. It keeps giving both to God and to man. Challenged by beliefs of the times that our works can gain access to God (heaven), the Lutheran Christian reformer Martin Luther famously once said about works that it “...frees us from having to impress God with who we are or what we do. By faith in God’s promise in Christ, we are free to serve our neighbor not by escaping from this work to live among religious people, but by living our everyday lives” (Luther’s Small Catechism, Anniversary Study Edition; Augsburg Fortress, 2016). Religious leaders at Luther’s time viewed serving God as reserved for spiritual occupations (priest, nun, or monk) rather than a common person in everyday life. Luther’s view of vocation was viewed as radical that all can serve God right where they are in life, being who they are: mother, father, farmer, teacher, homemaker, or tradesman. This placed an exclamation mark on being called to serve God in everything we do in life!
Understanding vocation at a deeper level gives us dignity and purpose in serving God and our neighbors, no matter what station or role we find ourselves in. It’s true God doesn’t need us or our work for His Kingdom, yet He has always used His faithful servants for His purposes. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10. God has blessed us with skill and a purpose for His purposes. We are "created in Christ Jesus for good works." Good works do not give us a fast pass to salvation, but God uses us; He prepared what He wanted us to do for Him long ago. He has already planned our steps and aims for a unique plan for us to serve Him in this world. This would include using our spiritual gifts and, of course, the help, guidance, and work of the Holy Spirit to lead us in service to Him.
Wrapping up, I want to briefly reflect on two final thoughts before closing. What a gift and blessing it is to think about all that we pour into our work here on earth! We can reflect our love in Christ through our work in God’s kingdom as we serve our neighbor. Jesus reminds us as He replied to religious leaders' question during His time on earth, "...which is the greatest commandment in the law?” “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40.
And back to Labor Day, Saints, God first worked then rested, not the other way around. God did not rest thinking about working next. He is a God of action and the Lord of total creation - the Lord of all. He did not rest because He was tired or exhausted. He blessed the seventh day [the sabbath] and made it holy as a model for us to follow. In our rest, after we work to His glory, we also rest to His glory. After we create and serve our neighbor, we return to Christ with thankful hearts and can gain true rest (peace) for our souls, which can be found only in Him. Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
I am excited to think about our students learning to lean in more deeply into their work in Christ on this earth, knowing that they are able to serve Him right where they find Him leading them in their many vocations (son/daughter, friend, nephew/niece, grandson/daughter)—confidently using the gifts and talents with which they have been blessed to His glory, His good, and to the good of their neighbor. What a tremendous message and asset for our world! Praise be to God! Enjoy your family and a day of rest, Saints - have a blessed Labor Day.
Rest in Him!
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