There are many things out of my control – the weather, how others perceive and treat me, whether or not my students do their homework, or really anyone else’s choices. I cannot control anything or anyone outside of myself. Now, that is not to say that the things I do and say do not, in some way or another, contribute to what others do, but it is ultimately their choice, and that’s a hard thing to accept. Giving our best to a job, a relationship, or a task does not inherently mean that what we are giving ourselves over to will accept, acknowledge, or even care about our effort. That’s no secret, though. Christ told his disciples this.
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”- John 15:18-19
If we are to be Christ’s ambassadors, then we must reflect His light and character, but that also means we will be met by the world with what He was met with – hate. Now, this is not to say that our whole existence and interactions with the world will be hate, but it is to remind us that when we give our best, and it is not met with the regard or recognition we hoped for, it may have more to do with the world and who we represent than the quality of our effort.
But that is not all. Yesterday, we celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and as I get older, Easter becomes more meaningful to me, as does Christ’s sacrifice. Whenever I think about the Cross, I think about our sins and the fact that He died for ours, but I also realized, this past weekend, He also carried our burdens, which were vanquished on the Cross – our worries, anxieties, frustrations, fears were also a finished work on the Cross, and I never quite grasped that before. Meaning that while we experience these very human feelings still, the need for them is no more because Christ has overcome this world (John 16:33) and overcome the need for us to worry, fret, or fear. And even when we feel these things, we have an antidote through Christ. As Paul reminds us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
But Christ’s resurrection brings forth a new perspective and new light to even the things which we already knew. It crystallized in my mind as I read 1 Corinthians 15. I have been thinking a lot lately about the things I can’t control, and the disappointment I have felt when my effort and impact haven’t been met with what I hoped. It has led me to diminish my impact, to believe that I am wasting my time, that I am ineffective, or that I am simply not doing my best or anything right. I had to first accept that we all have free will. I can’t make anyone do anything in the same way that God does not make us love Him, but rather gives us the free will to choose Him, to choose righteousness, and even though we do not always choose what is right and what is good, how can we expect that of others all the time? More importantly, Paul, through my father, reminded me that our area of focus should not be the response, but firstly, who the work we do and the life we lead is for, which is Christ Our Lord.
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
Sometimes, our output fluctuates and differs depending on what our efforts are met with. We aren’t loved back, so we decide we’re never going to love again to shield ourselves from hurt and rejection, which is a futile effort to begin with. We work on something arduously, and it is not acknowledged, so we decided we’re going to give less to stick it to someone, or because someone failed to see the merit of what we did. We are not treated well or right by someone, so we decide to give them a taste of their own medicine, none of which is Biblical. It does not say if the work you do is not appreciated, then change your approach, or that you have permission to give less than your best, but rather to be steadfast, which means “dutifully unwavering,” to be immovable, which means “unable to be moved,” and always abounding. I don’t have to tell you what always means, but abounding means, “very plentiful; abundant.” We are to, at all times, give our best to the Master (Colossians 3:23-24), because regardless of what humans we are doing anything for, all that we do is ultimately for the Kingdom of God.
As we love to say, Christ did not go some of the way, He went all of the way with all knowledge of us, the good and the bad, so who are we not to give all when our Savior has? His miracles, His declaration as Son of God, and His sacrifice were met with animosity and protest, and knowing He would be met with all this, He died on the Cross. I have come to realize that while I cannot make anyone regard what I do, the joy is in doing it for the Lord and having the opportunity and the privilege to do anything for Him and anything in service of the Christ who shed blood and overcame death, sin, and Hell just for me. It is easy for our eyes to shift to other things and away from God, but if we keep our eyes on Him, continuing to do the work that pleases Him, what we see is not external factors, but the pleasure of Our Father, which enables us to be steadfast, immovable, and unwavering.
But I have buried the lede. We are not expected to do any of this work on our own strength and acuity; the need for that also died with Christ. We have the greatest enabler in the Holy Spirit. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17). In the wake of Resurrection Sunday, let us rejoice in a risen Savior, in the overcoming of the world, death, sin and Hell, in the newness of life and relationship with God Our Father, in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit who reinforces the truth of the Gospel and who, through His empowerment, enable us to persist through difficulty and do the will and the work of the Lord! May we, like Our Savior, pick up our crosses and carry them well knowing we labor not in vain! May we truly live lives that demonstrate that we were resurrected with Christ and live with the victory we have through Him!
Scripture Reading: John 14:15-17, 19, 33; 1 Corinthians 15:57-58; Philippians 4:6-7; Colossians 3:23-24
