God has a marvelous rest planned for you in eternity. But until he calls you home, commit yourself to laboring for his kingdom. Do not settle for a life of comfort or ministry that is minimal. Devote your life to serving the Lord!
Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada, and welcome to Joni and Friends.
I was reading in Hebrews 4 last night, and I came across a verse that makes me smile every time I read it. It’s the 11th verse, and it says, “Work to enter that Sabbath rest.” I think another translation puts it “labor to enter that rest.” I smile because you normally would not put those two words together: work and rest. But the Holy Spirit didn’t seem to mind. He knows that diligent labor in the kingdom of Christ is the only way to enjoy rest for your soul.
And I’m sure that’s why I enjoy diving into my day, whether it’s opening up my heart to you on this radio program, or maybe it could be visiting a local convalescent center. My friend Rainey and I are having dinner tonight with an elderly man at a nearby nursing home. I like diving into plans for Wheels for the World trips, or going to our Family Retreats, or counseling a quadriplegic mother, recently injured and struggling with questions. Friend, I just love laboring in the kingdom.
And no matter how busy I am, always in the back of my mind, there’s this consolation that soon my labors will be over. And I am convinced that our labors down here on earth will, in fact, make our heavenly rest all the more pleasant when it arrives. Someone has said that “Christians who choose not to work now, shall not rest hereafter.”
It’s an important bit of counsel to remember, isn’t it? In our culture of comfort, we tend to go for the middle road; we tend to head for the mediocre; we go for that which won’t demand too much of us – work that won’t ask or ask until it hurts. We shy away from labor that intensive, and we would much really rather settle into – and settle for – ministry that is minimal. And before you know it, we’ve become spiritually flabby.
It’s why Amy Carmichael – she’s such an inspirational role model for me. She was a British missionary in the 1800s who left her homeland to labor for the Lord in India. And believe me, it was rigorous, it was demanding, it was hard. But Amy’s consolation was that soon she would enter that Sabbath rest of heavenly repose. And she wrote these powerful words; she said, “We shall have all of eternity to celebrate the victories, but only a few hours before sunset in which to win them.”
Boy, that invigorates me, and I hope those words inspire your labor today. We will have all of eternity to celebrate the victories, but only now, right now – right before the sun sets – we’ll have only now in which to win them. And friend, God has a marvelous rest ahead planned for you. And until then, in the words of this old hymn:
“Work, for the night is coming,
Under the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing,
Work, for daylight flies.
Work till the last beam fadeth,
Fadeth to shine no more;
Work, while the night is darkening,
When man’s work is o’er.”
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