Love requires work

"For God so loved the world, that He gave ….” John 3:16. I always heard a well-known pastor say in relation to this verse; the gift that keeps on giving. Love (God) explains in Isaiah 43:4, “since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee, ….” Exodus 3:7 & 8 says, “and the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry …. And I have come down to deliver them ….”

God, the epitome of love, represents, the highest, most ideal expression of affection, unconditional love and sacrificial love. This is the example set for us by our Creator. Love requires work! Work is an action and these actions are continuous in order to grow this love. “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth,” 1 John 3:18. Paul said to the Church in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, ….” Labour and pursue (meaning to chase), are synonyms of work.

As I reflected on the work I have to do in the backyard, to clean it up and to plant the garden, it became the inspiration for this message. While expressing my love for the garden, a dear friend used it show the level of work that’s needed for love. We have to be determined and purposeful, irrespective of its hardness. The work that’s required may cause frustration, pain and hurt. We may even have bruises as a result of the work but in the end work will produce.

God’s love for us is evidenced in the work Jesus did. As a result, He was ridiculed, rejected and beaten to buy us back. But at the end He said, Tetelestai, “…. IT IS FINISHED ….”, John 19:30, meaning, mission accomplished, victory, debt paid in full. The work that produces true love, Agapé love.

God Bless.