A labor of love

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1a

A labor of love is working to do something for the sheer pleasure of it to please others or for your own satisfaction rather than wages. What started out as a parade in New York City in 1882, evolved into a three day weekend national holiday to recognize laborers.

I recently refinished my grandfather’s antique cherry rope bed. It is a thing of beauty and what makes it so special is that Daddy gave it to me. As I’m working on this project my sister-in-law says she will make me a quilt for the bed.

She is a master quilter and has made all of my children and grandchildren quilts, not to mention myself plus gives them to foster girl’s as graduation gifts. Each quilt she creates is unique and perfectly designed for the person she is creating it for and it shows in the finished product. To say there is time involved in making these creations is an understatement but she does this out of the goodness of her heart. Her quilts truly are beautiful and a priceless labor of love.

So much of what we do is done out of love and not for payment. It is easy to spot the giver around us. It’s the person who goes out of their way to go above and beyond what is called for.

This is exactly what Jesus has called us to do. His desire for us is to show love through our actions and deeds. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “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.” The love Jesus has for us fits to a “T”, just like the new quilt on my old bed.