LABOR IN VAIN!

LABOR IN VAIN!

Gal 4:11

11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

1 Thess 3:5

5 For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

2 Cor 11:2-3

2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

          We see a recurring theme in the writings of the apostle Paul. He was nervous over his converts and wanted them to quickly come to spiritual maturity. He did not want his labor to be in vain. He carefully taught them the truth but he worried over them that someone might subvert that teaching. He instilled in them godly convictions that he feared they might abandon. He sent Timothy and other representatives to check on their condition and measure their progress. He did not want his labor to be in vain.

          Imagine the emotions of the shepherd as he comes upon the bloody remains of one of his wandering lambs. This was his labor! He feels like a failure because he could not protect the lamb. He had suffered real loss because this represented his livelihood. Worse than that, he had to bring just a couple of legs and a piece of an ear back to the Master Shepherd and give a report (Amos 3:12).

          As their spiritual father, in 2 Corinthians 11:2 and 3, Paul watched over the chastity and purity of the bride until the wedding. Like most fathers, he worried that the betrothed bride might, while waiting, lose her purity. Arm in arm he walks her down the aisle while rehearsing only two words: “I do.” He does not want to fail as a protecting father even at the risk of being too strict.

          So now you know why the preacher is such a “fussbudget.” You know why he is always fluttering around and sticking his nose in the business of the flock. He loves every little lamb. He does not want his labor to be in vain.

Dear Lord, at the risk of being an insufferable fussbudget, let me carefully watch over my flock. AMEN