November 4, 2005

[Rev. Doc]

Always At Work

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:58

We are to work while we wait. A gardener for a large estate in northern Italy was conducting a visitor through the castle and the beautiful, well-groomed grounds. As the visitor had lunch with the gardener and his wife, he commended them for the beautiful way they were keeping the gardens. He asked, "By the way, when was the last time the owner was here? He said, "I was about ten years ago." The visitor asked, "Then why do you keep the gardens in such an immaculate, lovely manner?" He said, "Because I’m expecting him to return." He persisted, "Is he coming next week?" The gardener replied, "I don’t know when he is coming, but I am expecting him today." Although he didn’t come that day, he was living in the light of the owner’s imminent return. The gardener wasn’t hanging over the gate, watching down the road to see whether his master was coming. He was in the garden, trimming, cutting, mowing, weeding, planting. He was busy. That is what Paul is talking about when he says we should be established in the work of the Lord in the view of the fact that He is returning. We need to wake up, watch, work and witness for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is coming again!

Prayer: Ask God to help you focus on service as if His return were today.

"Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen."
~Peter Marshall