Wednesday, August 28, 2013

My Labor Day, Myself


" Come to me, all you who labor and are weary, and I will give you rest." [ Matthew 11:28].


Labor Day in America is the first Monday in September. On that day, we celebrate all those who labor and are weary. We also take a much needed rest from those labors.

So many of us are at work-- whether at the workplace or via electronic "tethers"-- almost around the clock these days. There must be a time when we leave our workplaces, turn off those devices and simply allow ourselves to BE.

We owe it to ourselves to fill ourselves up, so we can serve again with strength.

Even Jesus needed to take time away from His work. Many, many times in the Bible, Jesus went to the seaside, or up on a mountain or to the desert, to reflect and rest, and to pray.

So often, we modern human beings define ourselves by our work. We are at an event such as a wedding, a barbecue or a coffee hour; and the first question we are are asked is, "What do you DO?"

We define ourselves as a plumber, or a nurse, or a teacher, or a librarian.

In family gatherings, we define ourselves as So-And-So's sister, or aunt, or brother, or cousin.

Sometimes, I think that we hide behind our labels.

There were a variety of names in the Bible for Jesus Himself ----

He was known as Jesus, Yahweh, Emmanuel, Rabbi, Teacher, Son of God, Son of Man, son of Mary and Joseph, the Good Shepherd, Christ, Bread of Life, Head of the Church, the Alpha and the Omega, King of Kings, Lamb of God, Lord, Prince of Peace, Ruler, Savior, the True Light, the True Vine. . . .

But Jesus was so much more than the sum total of His labels. Jesus simply WAS.

He never became defensive about who He was.

He never allowed Himself to be reduced to mere labels. Even immediately before His Crucifixion, the governor asked Jesus asked, "Are you not the King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "If you say that I am."

Summing up ourselves by only labels is about as effective as saying that Jesus was only a carpenter!

I believe that we hide behind our labels, because that allows us to avoid seeing who we REALLY are. All of our busy-ness, and preoccupation with our professions and our career, obliterates our True Selves.

When I was struggling with my faith and searching for a new church, I found myself asking who I really am?. . . A cousin wrote me a note that said, "Oh, I believe, in your heart, that you know who you really are!"

It was then that I grew tearful . . . . and I found myself wondering where God was? That longing drove me to prayer, and to an on-going conversation with God and, ultimately, to a relationship with God.

This Labor Day, I hope that, for a few hours, you will shed all of your masks and titles, and your generational slots on the family tree.  I hope that you will change out of your uniform, and all the designer clothes that you think define you. And I hope that you gaze at yourself in the mirror.

It is said that the eyes are the mirror of the Soul. When you gaze at yourself in the mirror, and quit trying to define yourself the way the Earthly World sees you, what will you find?

I believe that you may just find the God inside you!

[Related Posting, "Labor Day", September 6, 2011].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2013. All Rights Reserved.










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