Meaningful Labor

Read Leviticus 22

Read Ecclesiastes 6

In Ecc. 6 Solomon ponders the value of wealth at the end of life. What does it profit in the end to have lots of possessions? What does it benefit you to have been regarded as successful in the world when you are dying? So what if you have fathered a hundred children and become wealthy and gained respect. In your dying hour you leave all that behind.

In death, the only thing that will help you is Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The salvation he earned on the cross for us gives us great comfort when we face death. And not only that, but he also gives us comfort in this life.

Sometimes all our labor can seem like great vanity. We work so we can eat, but soon we are hungry again. Our appetite is never satisfied. We work also so we can have shelter and possessions, but these eat up our attention and our energy as well. Often, many things in life can seem meaningless.

But when we are mindful of our salvation in Christ and seek to live for him, then we have purpose. And when life seems vain and empty, we can also remember the words of Solomon in the previous chapter. At the end of chapter 5 Solomon says, "Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart." (v. 18-20)

Whatever labor we are given to do, it is a gift of God to be able to enjoy that. To work for the Lord with joy in our hearts, even as we do mundane and little tasks, it is a blessing. To be happy and content with what God has given, be they few or many possessions, his also is a gift of God.

Remember these words the next time you are frustrated with life. It's helped me through some stressful times. Meaningful labor is a gift of God. Help me, O Lord, to live for you!

Pray:

"O God of all comfort, by Your Word and Holy Spirit grant us a firm, glad, and grateful faith, that by it we may overcome every trial and at length hear the Word of Your dear Son: 'Take heart; I have overcome the world.' Amen." (TLSB p. 1057)

Study with me tomorrow,

Pastor Jon

Soli Deo Gloria!