Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Jordan and I spent a year developing modules of technical content for a large multinational company. These modules were intended to help the corporation’s employees to learn about highly technical topics within a short time. Much research and consultation with experts went into those modules, and the content was very carefully screened and edited before it was approved. Jordan and I took great pride in producing these modules, which were of very high quality, and were highly recognized by experts within the company for which we developed them. Suddenly, one day, a manager within the corporation decided the program was no longer needed. So it was cancelled, and all of our modules, which had been available on the company’s internal network, went into an archive where hardly anybody would ever see them. It seemed that all of the work that Jordan and I had put into those modules was in vain. How different the work that you and I do for the Lord!
An older brother who did his best to encourage young Christians used to recite the following poem: ‘In God’s own time, in God’s own way, who does God’s work will get God’s pay’. The knowledge that there is a sure recompense for everything we do for the Lord is a great encouragement when we fail to see much progress despite our efforts. Preachers who often labour long and faithfully and see little evidence of fruit can look past the disappointments of time and appreciate the promise for eternity. Those who go forth with tears today can know that a soon coming day of rejoicing will unveil the size of the sheaves that only God can measure now. Many of us know what it is to miss out on our rightful compensation in our earthly endeavours because of the greed of an employer or the selfishness of others. But God makes no mistakes; His time sheets are perfectly accurate and His records are perfect.
Our text today begins with an important word. An old preacher used to tell us that whenever we encountered the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible, we should carefully examine what it is there for. In this case, the word is referring back to the previous verses in which Paul describes our victory in Christ over death. Because we have such a victory, we also have a future in which the deeds of earth will be assessed and compensated. People in the world work many years to supply their temporary needs and see no lasting results of their labours. But as Christians, that short-term outlook is replaced with an eternal reward that is backed by the Word of God.
Faithfulness in our Christian life and service is well worth it! God says so. -Jim MacIntosh