I want to see Jesus!
Just a Meadow Minute
At sixty-eight years of age, I’ve not recently been into climbing trees anymore, but I’m thinking it would be rewarding to give it a go.
Now, just hear me out…
I spent a fair share of my younger years in trees, especially in my parents’ neck of the woods – the hills of North Carolina – picking fruit or building treehouses or hunting or whatever. Being forty or fifty feet up in a Blue Ridge pine tree is something you won’t soon forget. (I was definitely a “tree hugger” that day!) Some time ago, before Diane and I moved to Meadow, my grandson Ethan and I made a double-decker squirrel condo together and put it in my backyard shade tree in Lubbock. Trust me. I held the ladder, and Ethan did the climbing!
But I’m thinking we all might need to “branch out” and climb an occasional tree, spiritually speaking of course.
“(Zacchaeus) wanted to see who Jesus was…so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way.” His story was a part of my quiet time Bible reading this week.
Short in stature but with great curiosity, Zacchaeus risked life and limb (pun intended) for the chance to get a better look at Jesus. What extra effort, what risk would you or I take in front of a watching, judgmental world to be identified with our Savior, the One who loves us like no other ever could. What would it take to toss caution to the wind and be like the wee-little tree-climbing cheat turned champion in the fourteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel?
Is it too much for our Lord to ask that we not forsake gathering with other believers in worship? Are you thinking, “Everyone knows me around here, and it’s been so long since I was in any church that people might judge me down there and wonder where I’ve been,” or are you willing to imagine, “People there might greet me, and welcome me, and include me at a time when I am so very isolated and lonely?”
Would you ever consider braving a Bible Study class? Would it be too difficult, too embarrassing to be a part of a weekly group of people wishing to know their Savior better? Are you thinking, “I heard all that when I was a kid,” or are you willing to consider, “Maybe there is yet something in God’s love letter for me?” How about considering dusting off your copy of His Word and joining a class?
How satisfied are any of us in our relationship with Jesus? Have we seen all there is to see of Him? Have we heard everything we need to hear from Him? Have we done all that He could possibly expect…not to gain His favor…to show our trust and dependence on Him? There is more, much more, available to us all who are willing to “go out on a limb” for a new, fresher, better look at the Savior.
Job 42:5 says, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee.”
“Open my eyes, Lord
I want to see Jesus!”
Grace,
Tom
Meadow Minute Archives
Previous ten articles of the Meadow Minute can be located by date and content.
There are many in our church who claim this hymn as one of their favorites. It is another of Fanny Crosby’s many composures where she added the words to a melody provided to her by another hymn writer, in this instance, William Doane. When others would bring her a melody, Crosby was known for saying, “That tune says to me…,” and then she would write a stirring text.
The subject here is nearness. And like many other of her hymns, Fanny Crosby’s focus is the cross of Christ. Without the cross, there is no salvation, no eternal life, no hope. At the time Crosby wrote this hymn, many scholars and preachers were beginning to drift off toward “explaining” the moral teachings of Jesus, the virtue and goodness that He modeled for us, as the themes of their teachings and a twisted interpretation of the Gospel. They were seriously downplaying each individual’s sin and Jesus’ sacrificial crucifixion. (Sounds a bit like the Health and Wealth Charlatans and those re-defining what sin is of our day.)
Fanny Crosby echoed the Apostle Paul as found in Galatians 6:14: “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
The sweet melody rings in my ears even as I write out the words.
Jesus, keep me near the cross—
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
‘Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the Bright and Morning Star
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o’er me.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
‘Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.
So many people today try to use the teachings of Jesus about God’s love and mercy and forgiveness to justify their continuing to live a twisted version of morality, their version of acceptable behavior. It is not OUR definition of sin and righteousness that matters. We do not have the privilege of our own truth. It’s God’s truth. And it has not changed since before time began. What was sin, still is. And while our Lord did teach us to love each other and care for each other, He also made clear that He came that we might have life through His sacrificial death on the cross for our sin. We must never cheapen the message of the cross, and may God ever keep us within its shadow.
Grace,
Tom
Other than the small solitaire on Mom’s wedding band, I do not recall her owning another diamond.
Dad brought her Tiger’s Eye from Thailand, and she wore a birthstone ring for her three sons. She had a very limited number of gold and silver necklaces and lots of costume jewelry, including many sets of clip-on earrings (her ears were never pierced). Mom had at least one pin for every occasion that could possibly come along. Her favorite was the US flag.
Mom’s one and only extravagance was opal. Much of it was brought back by my dad from overseas. She had opal clip-on earrings and an opal pendant. I remember her beautiful bracelet of opal and of course she occasionally wore an opal ring. Now, God has shown me meaning in these memories of my mother.
There is something amazing about the finest quality opal gemstones. If left untouched for a long period of time, opal will become bland and lusterless. But if you hold the opal in your hand for a few minutes, it again becomes flawless in brilliant color. Many opal gemstones can have the splendor of the rainbow. It is known as the “sympathetic jewel” because it only needs contact with the human hand to bring out its amazing beauty. Just a touch. Just a simple touch.
In our world today, we are often afraid to touch each other or even get too close. I’ll say it out right—we need human touch today more than ever. I fear our children may be permanently scarred from all the isolation they endured during the COVID scare. It is strange to me that we called such separation social distancing. And society now calls communications social media although there’s nothing social about either as they hinder getting together and socializing!
We live in a world where so much beauty is hidden under pain, sin, and suffering. How many lives do we come into contact with on a daily basis that only need the warm touch of human sympathy, love, and compassion to make them gleam with splendor?
One of the more under-used resources at FBC Meadow is our Instant Church Directory. There are some in our congregation who have never taken the time to sign up, though it really is a great tool in keeping us all connected. If you’re not in the digital directory, I encourage you to reconsider. Some folks pray for their fellow Christians by going through the directory on a regular basis. It lists birthdays and anniversaries, and it’s a simple matter to update contact information or to change the picture. It's a wonderful way to reach out and touch someone for His glory even if only with a kind word, or a card, or a call!
Jesus was constantly touching people. He touched the sick and those with leprosy. He gathered children in His arms. He washed His disciples feet. The power of touch was proven when the multitudes found themselves crowding in to be near Him—even to just touch the hem of His garment.
John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Share the love of God. Reach out and touch someone in His name, and not only will others receive a glimmer of joy, but you just might find yourself gleaming with His radiance too!
Grace,
Tom
“It is better to receive a rose from a casual friend than a can of succotash from a hoodlum.”
That sentence is probably true, but let’s face it, it doesn’t measure up to the teaching the Father offers in the Wisdom Literature of the Bible. In His Word, all true wisdom is seen as flowing from the One True God, rather than being a mere accumulation of human observations and experience.
Throughout my life, just about every birthday card, Father’s Day card or Christmas card I got from my mom included in her own handwriting, Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
In books Mom would give me, the same verse always showed up in the front where she would sign her name as having given it to me. Always. I will admit I can be a bit thick sometimes, but after a while I started thinking maybe she was trying to tell me something.
As I, as we, get older and experience more, we should be reminded again and again where true wisdom comes from. Recently, Artificial intelligence finds itself in the news every day. Many people praise its virtues, while others shout that it is the anti-Christ. I can personally see many positive aspects to the use of AI and do use it on occasion, but human nature being what it is, the entire concept is also set up for unbelievable abuse. There is no telling where artificial intelligence will eventually take us. But if you have asked Siri a question, or to find a channel, or to set a timer for when dinner will be ready, you have used AI. Be careful what you criticize. Still, true wisdom does not come from human observation and experience but from God. We might look at a young, engaged couple or even newly-weds and think to ourselves, “they don’t have a clue.” Same thing with new parents and their first baby. We think, “just you both wait…”
But it is our own self-superiority and arrogance that would make us think like that. We think that with our own life experiences and all that we’ve lived through, we have the better answers to things than someone else “less experienced.” We can give advice. We should be open to helping others where we can, but we must avoid thinking too highly of ourselves and our own wisdom.
I believe the “trust” proverbs are good advice for us all. Here’s just a couple:
* Proverbs 3:7-8 – “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.”
* Proverbs 16:20 – “He who gives attention to the word shall find good; and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”
* Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Wherever we are in our life, whatever we have filed away in our memory as knowledge or wisdom should always line up with God’s wisdom and expectation.
Thanks, Mom…I get it.
Grace,
Tom
Where is your “prayer chair?”
Think about that for a minute. It will be different for each one of us. It may be a quiet spot on the farm, or some little country church house. Maybe it’s an actual chair in your home, or some attic corner about which no one else knows. It could be some secluded nook in our church or a particular seat in the sanctuary, some place – any place where “God comes down our souls to greet, and glory crowns the mercy seat.”
Scripture tells us Jesus had preferred places of prayer. “He went into the wilderness to pray,” or “He went upon a certain mountain to pray.”
Mark 1:35 says, “And in the early morning while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place and was praying there.”
It was a well-known discipline that our Lord had that His disciples were well-acquainted with, particularly involving the Mount of Olives. Jesus made His triumphal entry from there, and ascended to the Father from the same place. Even when betraying Jesus into the hands of His enemies, Judas knew exactly where to find Jesus because “He often went there to pray.”
So, where’s your spot? In the Old Testament, we read about the great people of the Bible setting up altars to God and returning to them again and again in recalling mountaintop experiences they had communing with the Lord.
As faithful Christians, we find ourselves praying in many places and unique situations. In fact, God’s Word directs us to “pray without ceasing.” But I’m thinking most of us have that special hiding place, our “Peniel” where we wrestle with God, that wonderful prayer closet where we know our God is waiting and ready to commune with us like nowhere else.
I hope you do. It’s my prayer that you do. And I hope you find yourself there often.
And if you already have this discipline of daily speaking with the Father, then the natural next step is to include the reading of God’s Word each day…not necessarily for in-depth study, but as a way to get centered and started with the promises of Scripture on your heart. (FBC Meadow already provides some excellent resources for personal in-depth Bible Study and you can find them in the vestibule outside the sanctuary.) Read to get your mind quiet so you may take a few minutes afterwards to sit still in the presence of God. Each week in the newsletter and on the Home Page of the church website are listed two Scripture passages for those who memorize God’s Word. These would be a great place to begin in looking to God’s Word to speak to your daily life.
Don’t miss the wonderful opportunity to read God’s love letter to you. Make it a daily regimen in your life. And then, in that special place where the two of you commune and connect, I pray God can lift your spirit each and every day, and place you on a higher plain of understanding His love and grace and mercy as you speak with Him.
Grace,
Tom
Just a Meadow Minute
Helen Lemmel was a noted Christian singer and voice teacher when, in 1918, a friend of hers, a missionary, handed her a tract called “Focused.” The tract said, “So, then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness.” In her journal, Lemmel would write, “Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses were written the same week…”
Later that year, the song was published in London. It quickly became a favorite of Christians in England , then in America, and around the world. It has urged generations of believers to stop, look to the Lord, and listen for His guidance. You know the melody.
O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting, He passed, and we followed Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—For more than conquerors we are!
He word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!
Colossians 3:1-3 says, “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
How much blessing we must miss when we fill our minds and our busy lives each day only with the things of earth. The focus of the Christian life is to be on heavenly things, where Christ is, rather than on worldly pursuits. It is counter-productive for any follower of Jesus to walk around constantly staring up with their head in the clouds. Life happens here, right here, in front of us. The abundant life is full of joy and love and relationships and accomplishments. Still, we are called to see the world for what it truly is—passing away. In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”
The ”real life” for believers is not their earthly existence, but their eternal life, which is secured and “hidden with Christ in God.” And that is not something for us to keep to ourselves. We find our Christ. We focus upon Him for our Christian Walk, our blessed life with God. But don’t stop there.
“Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!”
Grace,
Tom
Many years ago, I was asked to bring the Children’s Sermons in the church where Diane and I attended. While silently questioning my pastor’s judgement and wondered what qualifications he saw in me at the time to do this important work I got my answer from Diane. She had often alluded to the fact that on any particular day, in any particular circumstance, this was the age group my behavior seemed to identify me with…so maybe that was it. In any case, those times at the front with the kids are great memories, and we all got along really well.
In getting ready for a particular week, I collected several dozen red ants in a large mason jar filled with loose soil and poked some holes in the top. I even added a bit of sugar water clumps for food. Within a few days, as expected, the ants began to dig down around the edges, and it was interesting to watch the development of tunnels along the inside of the mason jar.
Taking the jar with me on Sunday, I asked the children who gathered at the front that morning what it would take for me to get a message to the ants. “How could I communicate with them. If I knew a way for them to escape the futileness of their current plight, how could I let them know” I stood up where the children were and danced around waving my hands in the air. “What if I tried to get their attention like this? Would they get the message? Maybe I could just yell really loud about how they could build a way out.”
I sat back down amongst them, and for the longest time, there was nothing but silence. I began to think this was not going as planned. Finally, I asked one more time, “What would I have to do to help them understand?”
“Be a ant,” a little boy in the front row blurted out. “You’d have to be a ant!”
His grammar wasn’t exactly right, but he sure had the correct answer. Out of the mouth of babes… His words were the perfect segway to describing the gospel message of this four-minute sermon in the simplest of terms.
We all said John 3:16 together. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Our God created us and loves us and wants a relationship with us. He so desired to communicate with us even in our futile, seemingly meaningless lives as to how He might free us to His glory and purpose. He used mighty signs and wonders. He spoke through great men of history like Moses and Abraham. He sent His prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. He used all sorts of things, until finally He did the seemingly impossible thing – He became “a ant”, sorry, can’t get that kid’s answer out of my head. He became a man. Not like a man. God became a man.
Galatians 4:4 explains to us the “when”, “who”, “what”, “how,” ”why” of God’s plan encompassed in Jesus: “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.”
Oh, how He loves you and me!
Grace,
Tom
God has His perfect timing for everything under heaven. We’ve all had times of waiting for God to intervene in some area of our life, yet we can relax and know that God’s timing is perfect. Take a look around you right now. “There is a time to plant and a time to reap.” We never know all that God is doing behind the scenes in order that our joy would be made full. But we can “be still and know that He is God.” He IS a God big enough to see around the corner.
And not only is His timing perfect FOR us. If we are willing, God’s timing can be perfect THROUGH us as well. “Who knows but that you have come to your current situation for such a time as this?”
Is it your experience, your gift, your willingness that the Father wants to draw upon at this perfect time so that His Kingdom might be advanced through His hand in your life? Has God placed the name of someone on your heart to earnestly pray for and invite to watch a service on-line or to come with you to Bible Study and worship? Have you felt His urging to minister as a part of the Church Choir, or to find a place of faithful service in a Bible Study Class? How might God’s perfect timing happen THROUGH you? Our best days are always before us when we Trust and Obey.
We should take the time to thank Him for His marvelous care in our lives. God is about to bless our area with a wonderful harvest. And let’s thank Him for the opportunities of authentic worship and surrendered service we have at FBC Meadow. Diane and I praise God and thank you for the opportunity to serve with you here to His glory.
Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
How about from our current sermon series in Ephesians, “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.
Proverbs 3:5-6 should always come to mind when looking for guidance and direction in finding ways to be used by God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make you paths straight.”
God has blessed us here with a loving, close fellowship. It is wonderful to see our youth group and children’s areas growing. New families coming and university students finding places of service should inspire all of us to find our ministry in completing the work God has for us to do here. As special as things are, it takes all of us, exercising the spiritual gifts God has placed in our lives to make our church all that He wants it to be. Don’t stay on the bench. Get in the game! Don’t hoard the blessings the Lord has bestowed on you and your family—use them to His glory!
Together, in His perfect timing, let’s be willing to plant some shade trees under which we may never sit.
Grace,
Tom
The Spirit of God moved in the hearts of several men in our area to have a Community Call to Prayer for the Harvest. I was thrilled to hear of their plan, and I am confident God is smiling upon them as they make tangible arrangements to include Him in the coming busy days of harvest. The event is to be held in the Meadow Farmers’ Cooperative Gin on September 23rd from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. There is a hamburger lunch planned for all who attend. The only agenda for the gathering is for the men and women of our area to come together in prayer for this year’s harvest to bring glory to God.
At the Gin’s Men’s Bible Study this last Tuesday morning, I asked the men, specifically, what our community should pray for. Many of the answers were practical in nature. The equipment needs to hold up. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with clear and dry days. They asked for prayer that there would be plenty of workers to get the job done, and that there would be a favorable market. One farmer asked me to put on the list that there would be plenty of bailing wire! Like I said, practical.
Several suggestions were quite selfless in nature. More than one man asked for prayer that the gin workers and field workers would be safe from accidents. Another said to include our neighboring farmers, that they would be protected bringing in their harvests. The men spoke of some families they knew of where this would be a “make or break” year and they wished to pray especially for those folks.
Finally, the men got around to acknowledging the spiritual aspects of the harvest. They wanted prayer for wisdom in decision making and doing what was right in all matters. They asked for prayer that they would be good stewards of what was harvested, and that their faith and the faith of their families would remain strong through it all. One request was simply that God would heal our land, and that through the efforts such as this Call to Prayer at Harvest, God would receive the glory and not men in our community.
1 Corinthians 3:7 says, “So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but it’s God who causes the growth.” In context, this verse speaks to the sharing and nurturing of the gospel with those who don’t know Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are to plant seeds of faith, and we are to nurture them, but it is God Himself who brings the increase. Clearly, it reminds the one who puts seed in the ground each spring and waters the earth through the dry days of summer, that it is God who brings forth the harvest.
Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” I mentioned at the start of this Meadow Minute how God is moving among many in our area who feel the need to include the Lord in the business of daily living in our community. I pray that every one of those who are seeking God’s blessing upon this year’s harvest will have the faith to return to Him the first-fruits of that blessing and not just what’s left over. When the Lord blesses, as He has promised, be found faithful in thanksgiving for all that He has done.
“’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need.’” Malachi 3:10
Grace,
Tom
I suppose it’s possible to one day run out of my favorite hymns to share here…but not yet! And the stories and inspirations for them can sometimes be almost as meaningful as the songs themselves.
As a blind person in the time she lived, Fanny Crosby faced daily insecurity. Many believe that’s why so many of her wonderful hymns come from the book of Psalms where she found so much comfort and security in the Lord. This song was one of her favorites. How often she must have felt alone and vulnerable, just like David in the desert. From words of Scripture she prayed, “Hide me…” and many psalms would come to mind.
Another psalm image was “the cleft of the Rock.” For every Christian that phrase holds a special meaning as we know Jesus is the Rock who was broken for us. Take the time to consider how the hand of God covers you, shielding you from harm, and it becomes natural to express praise to God. “O glory to God for such a Redeemer as mine!” What wonderful security we have in Christ!
A wonderful Savior Is Jesus my Lord, A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, Where rivers of pleasure I see.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, That shadows a dry thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love, And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved, He giveth me strength as my day.
With numberless blessings each moment He crowns, And, filled with His fulness divine,
I sing in my rapture, “O glory to God, For such a Redeemer as mine!”
When clothed in His brightness transported I rise, To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, He wonderful love, I’ll shout with the millions on high.
There is an eternal security in knowing and following Christ that brings the peace that passes all understanding. My life is hidden in the depths of His love. His mighty yet tender hand covers me.
A pastor and group of deacons once felt they needed to visit a member of their church who had become a bit too loud and vocal during the worship services. An occasional, encouraging “amen” was fine they thought, but this farmer was just getting a bit out of hand, and it made folks uncomfortable. The well-meaning group of church leaders found the man in his field raking hay, and pulled up to the end of a row to get his attention. As they began to speak, he seemed genuinely mortified. He apologized for having become a distraction in worship. He explained how emotional he often became whenever he thought of the love of his Savior and it just seemed to make him want to shout. The more he spoke, the more animated he became until finally, he jumped from his tractor raised his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs “Glory!” Oh, that our praise to God might truly be that genuine.
Psalm 27:5 says, “He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; he will set me high on a rock.”
There IS comfort and security in the Lord. May He be the theme of our song, and the motivation of our worship.
Grace,
Tom
Does it seem possible that September is already upon us? We’ll all be dragging out Christmas decorations before you know it. Time marches on.
On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed legislation making Labor Day a federal holiday to honor American workers and their contributions to the strength and prosperity of the country. When I was very young, the new school year never began until after Labor Day, and Labor Day Weekend stood for the official end of summer. Growing up on Evelyn Avenue in San Angelo, TX, long before the days of Blackstone’s and pellet grills, the smell of charcoal and lighter fluid hung heavy in the air with the hope of hamburgers and hotdogs and maybe even some hand-cranked, homemade peach ice cream. If my brothers and I were lucky, Dad would even splurge for some RC Colas. Labor Day Weekend was summer’s last hoorah, and softened the blow of going back to school the next day.
Slowly but surely, the school year got longer and longer, and eventually, like today, we were already in “Full School Mode” long before Labor Day Weekend came around. Today, you might still find a parade here or there with politicians giving speeches honoring the work ethic of America. But in my past life, folks expected our C-stores and Truck Stops to be open no matter what. Getting a day off was for someone else. Labor Day for us was just another “Manic Monday.”
Still, there is much for Christians to think about during Labor Day. There are many Scriptures emphasizing the importance of righteous, diligent work, often framing it as a command from God. The Lord calls the able to purposeful work done with integrity.
1 Timothy 5:8 goes so far as to say, “But if any one does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Let me use this last Meadow Minute of the summer to remind us all of the witness and example we produce by being diligent in our work—to meet our own needs, the needs of those we care for, and to further the kingdom of God. Even if by the world’s standards you now call yourself retired, while on this earth, we are all called to serve the Lord with gladness.
Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”
Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
Jesus came that we might have life to the full, and this abundant life promised by Christ has many facets. One of the blessings of this life is the ability for each of us to make an eternal difference in our world.
“Hark! The voice of Jesus crying, ‘Who will go and work today? Fields are white, and harvests waiting; who will bear the sheaves away?’ Loud and long the Master calleth, rich reward He offers free; who will answer, gladly saying, ‘Here am I; send me, send me.’”
Happy Belated Labor Day!
Grace,
Tom