Labor of Love - Your Nightly Prayer
Labor of Love
Your Nightly Prayer for May 19, 2025
by Britt Mooney
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
"We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love." - 1 Thessalonians 1:3
SOMETHING TO PONDER
My wife understands the labor of love. Our first child was born in South Korea, and she wanted to have it naturally. In a Korean hospital, I watched her labor for hours, pushing for longer than normal, enduring pain and hardship, all while navigating a different culture.
For a reason. For love. She loved our child and wanted to see him, hold him, care for him. She persevered through labor not for obligation or duty but for love.
Our world has many various ideas regarding love, increasingly connected to sex and feeling good. If it pleases us in the moment, then it’s love. This refers to the Greek eros love, where we get the term erotic, and it has extended to our emotions and other philosophies. When things get difficult or our beliefs are challenged in some way, we interpret this as hate or abuse. If love becomes “what makes me feel good in the moment,” then people interpret the opposite as hate.
God teaches us a different love through Christ, the agape love. He sent his Son to die so we could be saved, a model of self-sacrifice for a future good. Through Christ, we see how he gave of himself to gain all of it back and reconciled humanity as well. God’s love sacrifices and seeks the eternal best for us and others. This is often hard work.
The hard work isn’t itself the goal, either. The goal of love is redemption, not some masochistic self-sacrifice. Jesus didn’t enjoy the cross, but he endured it for our good. God often calls us to labor in love, in different times and ways, seeing the joy set before us. There’s no inherent value in pain, but as we follow the Spirit and God’s Word, we may suffer for a time to reveal God’s love and gain the prize of eternity with him.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for showing us true love through Christ’s sacrifice. Teach us to labor in love, not for duty but redemption. Help us endure hardship with hope, just as Jesus did on the cross for the joy set before him. Let our love reflect your heart, seeking the eternal good of others. Empower us to follow your Spirit even when it’s hard, and remind us that love bears all things for your glory and our good.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Looking back, what were some ways your parents showed you love through their sacrifice? If not a parent, then what adult cared for you in this way?
2. How has God shown you his love through his sacrifice? What should your response be?
3. Who are the people in your life God has called you to love? How do you give of yourself to show his care and grace?
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Matt Henry Gunther
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