Gen 3:17 And to Adam he said, "Because you have
listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I
commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; Gen 3:18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for
you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. Gen 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat
bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are
dust, and to dust you shall return."
Isa 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see
and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make
many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
One of the curses sin brought on man is that everything
becomes more difficult. It might be the
difficulty of maintaining loving relationships such as in marriage as God told
Eve in Gen. 3:16, To the woman he said,
"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring
forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over
you." Or it might be the
difficulty of trying to make a living and feeding your family as in verses 17-19
above.
So it seems that the sweat of labor reminds us that work
will be difficult and unending all of our days and it will also not be as
fulfilling as it should. Sin causes
everything temporal to never reach its desired end or pleasure. Life just will not be what it was meant to
be.
Yet the truth that makes life bearable is that Jesus has
defeated every aspect that sin has brought upon us. It is no accident that the Gospels record Jesus’s
work on the cross in such a way that we can clearly see him taking the effects
of sin upon himself so that we can be freed.
He bore a crown of thorns as he became cursed for us; he was stripped
naked as he bore our shame so that we can be clothed in his righteousness. We even see him sweating profusely as he
begins his work in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The difference with his sweat and labor from ours was that
what he was trying to accomplish was completed fully. Unlike our labors that never find satisfaction
and perfection and in this life, never finding rest for these labors, his
brought complete satisfaction and accomplishment in defeating sin and redeeming
his church and once he said, “It is finished”, he rested from his labor for it
was perfect. We see his satisfying work
in Isa. 53:11 above, Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be
satisfied; by his knowledge shall
the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he
shall bear their iniquities. And
nothing says a work was done right the first time like not having to do it
again, Heb 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for
sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God.
Not only have our sins been completely paid for so they can
never be held against us but Christ’s work now gives our work on earth the
satisfaction it could never have otherwise.
The lost will labor and pursue pleasure all his days only to never find the
fulfillment that he is looking for and then he will leave it all behind and
suffer total loss, Mat 25:29 For to everyone who has will more be given,
and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has
will be taken away. Mat 25:30 And cast
the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. But
we have the opportunity by the grace of God to do all things for his glory and
in so doing we are given meaning and reward for even the most mundane jobs and the
same holds true in suffering patiently for the Lord’s sake. Now there is no excuse for any saint to not
find life fulfilling and rewarding because our work for the Lord brings great
satisfaction and ultimate reward. Christians
have the promise that it will be worth it all, that our lives are not worthless
but have great value, great reward and that perfect rest is coming.
I will close with what I think is a practical example. You might have a boss who is incompetent or
who is mean and unfair and doesn’t treat you according to the work you do or
might not pay you a fair wage, etc. For
many this brings frustration and discontent and they might wonder what is the
point of working. But Christ’s work of
redemption changes everything. That mean
boss is actually a means by which you can gain great reward if you bear it
patiently, if you love even him, if you continue to exhibit Christ to your
co-workers. If we returned kind for
kind, we just end up frustrated. But if
we use every opportunity as a tool to glorify the Lord, then we can look at
such people in a whole new light.
Col 3:22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who
are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but
with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the
Lord and not for men,
Col 3:24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive
the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Col 3:25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the
wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
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