day 794: Labor of Love

"And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born."

"It was a labor of love", is a comment that we like to make when someone goes above and beyond for something where they didn't receive anything extra other than the satisfaction or joy that comes from doing something well and appreciated by others. The labor of love can also happen in the workplace even in the midst of personal agendas, competitive activities, and desires to progress over others. That is why when we observe an act that comes across as a labor of love it is even that much more obvious and recognized. It takes the best in all of us to go above and beyond in the workplace for something that likely will not come back to us tangibly. But, we should each strive for that level of giving of ourselves and our companies. This time of year we can read about those companies that go above and beyond to give back to their community and those less fortunate. With enough sacrifice and effort, we can even be convinced that a corporation can commit a labor of love.

In the life of Jesus there is one labor of love after another. God Himself creates and gives to us His only Son. Mary, literally goes through the labor of love to bring the baby Jesus into the world. And then, Jesus goes the full sacrifice for us. Why? Because, He was showing how great His love is for us. Now, we pass through this life with many opportunities to live and model what Christ gave us. We labor in this world, but do we labor for love enough? One size of actions does not fit all of us. We each have been given our own talents and put in our own situations to provide our own love labors. We have only a few days left before we leave to celebrate Christmas. We are getting ready to give gifts to each other and we can also give a gift back to the Lord by ensuring that we are laboring for Him this week. Let's find an opportunity to give of ourselves for Him so that others can witness God's love in action.

Reference: Luke 2:6 (New Living Testament)