Are You Laboring Today?

Today many are celebrating Labor Day and enjoying a day off from their normal work week. Some have been looking forward to this long holiday weekend, because it provides an opportunity for rest, and rest is what many are seeking. But they are also seeking a full life, which is why they labor so hard. I was helping my son look up some information on the history of Labor Day and this is what we found on History.com.

“As the Industrial Revolution took hold of the nation, the average American in the late 1800s worked 12-hour days, seven days a week in order to make a basic living. Children were also working, as they provided cheap labor to employers and laws against child labor were not strongly enforced.

With the long hours and terrible working conditions, American unions became more prominent and voiced their demands for a better way of life. On Tuesday, September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from city hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade.” Twelve years later in 1894, Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday.

The people wanted a better way of life, which translated to less work hours. It’s funny that today most people think a better way of life comes from more work hours. Rest is something many seek, but few are willing to take time to do. It’s assumed in order to find a better way of life; one must work, work, work, and never rest. If you rest, you fall behind in the race with the Jones’. You must work harder so you can have a bigger house, a new car, more stylish clothes. In chasing after those things, one becomes weary, for it’s an ongoing thirst that is never quenched. When we try to satisfy our desires with earthly things, our labor is in vain.

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain… In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat, for he grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 127:1-2

The great news is there is a way you can have “a better life” and rest. It’s through Christ. He offers this invitation.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Matthew 11:28 (Amplified Bible)

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:6 (The Message)

Why not cease laboring today and come find rest in the One who can relieve and refresh your soul and give you a better life than you ever imagined.