God’s Labor of Love

Sept. 19, 2018 | By Taffi Dollar

When we hear the phrase “labor of love,” sometimes we can dismiss it as a cliché. When we stop and think of its deeper meaning on a spiritual level, we realize that we’re the ones who benefit from God’s ultimate labor of love. Everything that we have, including our very lives and the breath in our lungs, is a gift from Him. To make sure we know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much He loves us, God didn’t even spare His beloved Son.

A labor of love is defined as something done for others’ benefit, with no consideration of personal gain or reward. Before He sent Jesus to earth, God already knew the end from the beginning. He knew about the cross and what would eventually happen, but God sent His Son anyway. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The foreknowledge of what was bound to happen must have been agonizing for the Father, but He knew it was the only way to make us righteous after Adam and Eve’s sin.

Jesus had everything He needed in heaven; He didn’t have to come to earth to save us. Still, He chose to because of His love for us. Growing up on earth must have been a humbling experience for Him, but He did this because it was the only way to close the gap between God and man. Before Jesus came, life was full of painful struggles and defeat, but He wanted more for us. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Jesus knew that no matter how hard we try, we could never be good enough to get into heaven living by the Law of Moses. In His compassion for us, He perfectly fulfilled the law, to free us from constant self-effort. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). Our belief in this makes us righteous. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).

We could never make ourselves perfect enough to be able to stand in God’s presence, but Jesus’ finished works allows us to do so with confidence. We can only love ourselves, and others, because of His love offered to us first. God even went so far as to empower us to be like Him. “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world…We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:17, 19).

God’s love transforms our lives and takes them to a higher level. Religion tells us we have to wait to get to heaven before being in God’s presence but, through our trust and reliance on Him, we’re already there. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). Jesus is the perfect expression of the Father’s love for us. When we accept this love, we find a peace and joy that comes only from Him.

Jesus or Religion?

By Creflo Dollar

Read more