Young People’s Blog

“Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Corinthians 3:8).

 Here is another wonderful and encouraging truth that is connected with labor, or working for the Lord. After we are saved, we are encouraged to work for the Lord in this world. The Lord will show us which work He wants us to do, if we ask Him.

But the Lord also promises us that there will be a reward for our work. There will be different kinds of rewards in that day; some will be public, while others will be private, between us and the Lord.

Just think of it; the Lord has done so much for us, and given us salvation freely. But if we work for Him, He promises us a reward. We do not work for the Lord in order to get a reward; no, our work for Him should be only because of love to Christ. But His reward is an encouragement, and it will mean a lot to us in a coming day to receive that reward directly from the Lord.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

In this verse we find a different kind of labor—laboring directly in the work of the Lord. We should do everything for the Lord, even our regular work to earn a living, but here it talks about doing something that includes either preaching the gospel, or encouraging fellow Christians in their pathway of faithfulness to the Lord.

This is often hard work, and sometimes we can get discouraged if we do not see many results from our work. The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that resurrection is ahead, and that their work is not in vain. The Lord will bless it, and even though we may not see the results today, we will see them in a coming day when the Lord shows us those results that we do not see now.

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he might have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28).

Two days ago, on Saturday, we saw that we could not work to put away our sins, for only faith in our Lord Jesus Christ can take those sins away. However, after we are saved, it is important to work for the Lord, and to please Him in our everyday life.

In today’s verse we read about a man who was a thief before he was saved. But now, as a Christian, he is to work instead of stealing from others. However, we notice that it does not mention his own needs, but rather emphasizes the importance of earning money in order to help others. Of course, he should use some of his money to provide for himself, but also, instead of taking money from others, he should be giving to others. What a difference from his previous life! But that is the character of God; He is a giving God, and as Christians, we are to be givers too.

“Then said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53).

“Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60).

“From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him” (John 6:66).

At first glance, our first verse today might seem a bit confusing, for we cannot literally eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Lord Jesus. The meaning is that when we eat or drink something, we make it our own. Also, the verse shows us that the Lord Jesus had to die in order for us to have new life; His blood had to be separated from His body.

Many of those who followed the Lord Jesus were looking for an immediate earthly kingdom, and when they learned that He had to die, they found that hard to understand. As a result, many of them did not follow the Lord Jesus any more.

It is often the same today. Many people want to make this world a better place, but do not wish to follow a rejected Christ. The Lord Jesus is despised and rejected today, and if we follow Him, we too will be rejected. But it is well worth it, for He is worthy of our trust.

“Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life…Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent” (John 6:27-29).

Earlier in this chapter of John, the Lord Jesus had fed thousands of people by multiplying the lunch of one boy. Everyone enjoyed it, and then the people followed Him across the Sea of Galilee, for they wanted more of that free food! Then the Lord Jesus told them not to “labor” or “work toward” the food that would perish, but rather to be concerned about something more important—eternal life. Yes, it is important to have food to eat in this world, but far more important to know where we are going when we leave this world.

When they asked the Lord Jesus what they should be doing, in order to “work the works of God,” He replied that the first thing they needed to do was to believe on Him. We cannot work for salvation; it is a free gift of God through believing on the Lord Jesus. If you are not yet saved, this is the first step towards having a real relationship with God. We must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for salvation is only through Him.

“God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not” (Job 33:14).

Do you know why many people still remember this date? Perhaps some of you are too young to remember, for by the time you read this, the event to which I am referring will have happened 25 years ago.

On September 11, 2001, two passenger planes were taken over by terrorists and then flown directly into the World Trade Towers in New York, NY, U.S.A. As a result, both towers caught on fire and eventually collapsed. A total of nearly 3,000 people died, including the hijackers themselves and also a number of firemen. Everyone who is old enough to remember the event remembers what they were doing when they received the news.

God was speaking loudly to this world, and certainly the world changed, for now many people realize how easily it could happen again. But how many consider their soul’s salvation, and where they will go when they leave this world? God is warning this world of a far worse judgment ahead, and reminding people that there is still time to accept Christ as their Savior.

“We commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-11).

There is a movement in the governments of some countries today to ensure a guaranteed income for every adult, whether they work or not. Our verses today show the frequent result for those who can work, but refuse to do so. They become “busybodies”; that is, they tend to spend their time getting into mischief, doing a lot of idle talking, and causing trouble for themselves and others. Often they have to depend on the help of others to be able to live.

When man fell by disobeying God’s one command in the Garden of Eden, God immediately told Adam that from that time onward, he would have to work hard in order to eat. In this way, work is a great mercy, for it tends to keep man’s sinful nature somewhat in check.

It is also a poor testimony for a Christian not to work if he is able, for we should be willing to work to provide for our own needs, as well as to be able to help others who cannot work.

“And every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives” (John 7:53; 8:1).

Yesterday we spoke about some cats that were dropped off in our neighborhood, and suddenly they had no home. They could not find their way back to the place where they used to live, and they had to appeal to us to help them.

Have you ever thought of the fact that the Lord Jesus had no home in this world? Sometimes others invited Him to their homes, but in the verses we have for today, it seems that on this occasion everyone went to his own house, leaving the Lord Jesus with nowhere to go for the night. It seems that more than once the Lord Jesus spent the night on the mount of Olives.

Probably those people were not deliberately wanting to be mean; they were just thoughtless, and did not think about where the Lord Jesus would go for the night. Yet the Lord Jesus did not complain, and if you read the next verse in chapter 8, you will find that early in the morning He came again into the temple and began to teach the people. Even if no one showed the Lord Jesus any love, He never stopped showing His love to others.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

I am sure that many of you reading this calendar memorized this verse when you were quite young. It is an important verse as it refers not only to our trusting the Lord Jesus as Savior, but also trusting all the way along our path. Don’t lean on your own understanding!

This verse came into focus at our home this week. Someone dropped off a mother cat and her three kittens in our neighborhood, as they obviously didn’t want to care for them anymore. The cats appeared outside the door to our deck, looking very hungry. I love cats and couldn’t just ignore them, sitting there with soulful eyes! Soon they were feasting (very hesitantly) on a can of tuna in one dish and some milk in another dish. But… they had no trust. Someone may have treated them badly, and before they would come for the food, we had to go inside and stay away from the door. Their “own understanding” was that people couldn’t be trusted.

That was sad as we really wanted to show them some love and care. Those kittens missed out on the love we wanted to show them because of a lack of trust. God loves us and invites us to trust Him with ALL our heart!

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

My wife keeps a “sudoku” puzzle book beside her armchair, and when she has a few minutes, she enjoys keeping her mind sharp with a difficult puzzle. But occasionally I see her pick up the eraser and begin to eliminate some of her work. Why? The numbers just weren’t fitting anymore as they should!

It is like that when we read God’s Word. We need to read and meditate on what we have read. Then we can form thoughts on it. But if our thoughts are not guided by the Spirit of God, we may get a wrong idea, and then other parts of Scripture just don’t mesh with that thought. Everything seems to be scrambled. We may have to use the “eraser” and go back to square one in our thinking on the meaning of a verse or passage. That is the meaning of the phrase “rightly dividing the word of truth.” When we interpret God’s Word correctly, everything fits together smoothly.

When my wife starts to do a sudoku puzzle, she uses a pencil, not a pen. It’s the same when we interpret the Word of God. We should take time to meditate, and then check other’s thoughts and commentaries, before picking up that pen that cannot be erased!