All you who Labor, Day 34

I stumbled upon the “come to me, all you who labor…” verse again and the first thing that came to my mind was Martha; Martha who was drawn away by much serving. Later I came across the verse that talks of those who will say “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” I couldn’t help but think that these folks who Jesus never knew, whom he commanded to depart from Him, that they hadn’t chosen the one good thing. They were drawn away with much serving. They were laborers who hadn’t ever come to Him, even though they apparently thought they were working for Him. (God doesn’t want laborers. He wants children.)

The next verse I must place into this dish is, I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger… I was naked… I was sick… I was in prison… This one caused me to immediately revert back to my familiar way of thinking. “I better go find some people to help out.” I searched out this dilemma in my mind for a moment (where might I find these people to serve) and then I remembered: intimacy precedes fruitfulness.

My heart is completely transforming within me. I’m beginning to see things in an entirely new light, and it is a magnificently glorious light. Christianity has always been a walk of sacrifice, servitude, surrender, and struggle for me. I’ve been one who labors for as long as I’ve known of Jesus Christ. And now, all of the sudden, out of no where, I have a Father in heaven who desires to spend time with me. He wants me to speak with Him. He desires to pour blessings over me and to cover me with His love. All of the sudden I hear Jesus say, “come to me, you who labors,” and every thing He ever taught looks differently. I’m not to feed the hungry and tend to the sick because that is a job that needs to be done, or because it is a command that has been given but because of love. If the love isn’t there in the first place then the act becomes an act of labor that will draw the laborer away from the one good thing.

The greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love your neighbor. If I love then my movement, my actions, my life will be an act of love. I will feed the hungry because I love them. I will visit those imprisoned because I love them. If I miss the greatest commandment but still try and follow all the others, then I will be drawn away by much serving. I will be a laborer who needs to come to Jesus in order to find rest. I am going to rest now.

I haven’t a single solitary clue as to how I missed this all these years. Woah…