Labour Profitably
John 6:27 LABOUR not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, ...
It is interesting that in the text above Jesus did not say don’t labour at all . Rather he says channel your efforts profitably, to the most important thing which is eternal life. When you live by the principles that win eternal life, winning earthly goals will be pretty easy (Matt 6:33). It is like laboring to find a river, if you find it, filling your bottles with water wouldn’t be a problem. But if all your efforts were towards possessing few bottles of water, your sustenance will not be assured.
But that we′re told to labour means that eternal life isn’t going to be cheap! “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure HIDDEN in a field…” (Matt 13:44). That is, the blessings of the Kingdom of God are deeply kept. It takes dogged diggers, tenacious and unrelenting searchers to find and appropriate them.
Jesus says “STRIVE to enter in at the strait gate” (Lk 13:24). Heb 4:11 says “Therefore let us BE DILIGENT to enter that rest”. Phil 2:12 says “WORK OUT your own salvation with fear and trembling”. These verses emphasize that getting the superior blessings of eternal life is more than just believing in the name of Jesus. There is a labour, diligent effort, and striving required of you. God’s grace for greatness and eternal life are heavenly provision, obtainable only by hardworking believers who will relentlessly pursue and contend for it. I identify at least two unavoidable labour to get the kingdom blessings.
First is the labour in search of the kingdom mysteries. “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES; for in them ye think YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE: and they are they which testify of me” (Jhn 5:39). God’s principles for life (marriage, health, finance, business) are unfailing and rewarding but they are hidden in the scriptures. You can’t get it by glancing through the bible. You need to prayerfully search the word and listen to Christian messages till you discover the kingdom mystery and God’s purpose for you.
The second is the labour in taking action. It is not enough to know the mysteries of God. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. The display of wisdom is manifested in the utilization of God’s secret to achieve your goals, in the exercising of your faith to achieve the impossible and in the taking of necessary action toward accomplishing your purpose . “Now that you know these things, YOU WILL BE BLESSED IF YOU DO THEM” (John 13:17).
The blessing of knowledge is in the “doing”! The discovery you do nothing about will not benefit you. The truth you will discover in the word of God includes action to take to get a good husband, get a good job, live in good health, to become rich … and to make heaven. Such discovery may include the power of praying, fasting, humility, holiness, loving, diligence, giving, attitudinal change, improving your professional skills, asking, and some uncommon step of faith. Those who labour to discover the secrets of God and will labour to act on them shall be outstanding in every area of life and shall make heaven!
It is interesting that in the text above Jesus did not say don’t labour at all . Rather he says channel your efforts profitably, to the most important thing which is eternal life. When you live by the principles that win eternal life, winning earthly goals will be pretty easy (Matt 6:33). It is like laboring to find a river, if you find it, filling your bottles with water wouldn’t be a problem. But if all your efforts were towards possessing few bottles of water, your sustenance will not be assured.
But that we′re told to labour means that eternal life isn’t going to be cheap! “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure HIDDEN in a field…” (Matt 13:44). That is, the blessings of the Kingdom of God are deeply kept. It takes dogged diggers, tenacious and unrelenting searchers to find and appropriate them.
Jesus says “STRIVE to enter in at the strait gate” (Lk 13:24). Heb 4:11 says “Therefore let us BE DILIGENT to enter that rest”. Phil 2:12 says “WORK OUT your own salvation with fear and trembling”. These verses emphasize that getting the superior blessings of eternal life is more than just believing in the name of Jesus. There is a labour, diligent effort, and striving required of you. God’s grace for greatness and eternal life are heavenly provision, obtainable only by hardworking believers who will relentlessly pursue and contend for it. I identify at least two unavoidable labour to get the kingdom blessings.
First is the labour in search of the kingdom mysteries. “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES; for in them ye think YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE: and they are they which testify of me” (Jhn 5:39). God’s principles for life (marriage, health, finance, business) are unfailing and rewarding but they are hidden in the scriptures. You can’t get it by glancing through the bible. You need to prayerfully search the word and listen to Christian messages till you discover the kingdom mystery and God’s purpose for you.
The second is the labour in taking action. It is not enough to know the mysteries of God. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. The display of wisdom is manifested in the utilization of God’s secret to achieve your goals, in the exercising of your faith to achieve the impossible and in the taking of necessary action toward accomplishing your purpose . “Now that you know these things, YOU WILL BE BLESSED IF YOU DO THEM” (John 13:17).
The blessing of knowledge is in the “doing”! The discovery you do nothing about will not benefit you. The truth you will discover in the word of God includes action to take to get a good husband, get a good job, live in good health, to become rich … and to make heaven. Such discovery may include the power of praying, fasting, humility, holiness, loving, diligence, giving, attitudinal change, improving your professional skills, asking, and some uncommon step of faith. Those who labour to discover the secrets of God and will labour to act on them shall be outstanding in every area of life and shall make heaven!
