[AI translation] In this passage I have read, one word stuck with me so much that I am compelled to speak about it now, and that word is: not in vain! There are many bold statements in Scripture, but what the apostle Paul says here is among the boldest. Especially today we feel the boldness of this statement, when many of us have had very bitter experiences of how much of our lives are in vain. For example, if one's ambition was to accumulate something of material value - land, money, securities - to secure a comfortable, carefree old age, or to bequeath to one's children after death, one would put everything at the service of that ambition: one would save, one would work, one would work, one would work, one would even take a bite out of one's own mouth, and then the war would come and take it all away. It was a waste of effort, it was not worth fighting so hard for - behold, what he did was in vain! There are so many things in this life that later turn out to have been in vain! Many times in your life you get excited about something, many times you are happy about something, many times you sacrifice for something, and then later you realise that it was not worth it. Many times he does something he regrets and says: 'I wish I had never done it, it was a waste - a waste of time, of energy, of life! A 56-year-old man once said, when he had come to know the fullness of life in Jesus, that all he had lived, all the past 56 years, had been one big waste! It is a terrible thing when one takes stock of a period of one's life, or weighs up anything, and is forced to conclude that it has been in vain!There is this anxiety in the minds of mankind all over the world today, that all may be in vain, that all life may be shattered to atoms! The "it's not worth it" mentality, the "waste of effort" mentality, the idea of futility demoralises the whole world, especially young people. It takes away the courage to make plans, to think in larger perspectives; it makes you a person who no longer has any ideals, who is no longer really interested in anything - as they say: unmoved. A man who doesn't mind, no matter what, who takes life as it is; who eats and drinks, lives and moves, who is neither particularly bad nor particularly good; who does no harm to flies and does no good to anyone... The feeling of futility makes you indifferent, hopeless and shrinks life from one day to the next into a rescue. One is left with only one ambition: carpe diem! - to enjoy today: let's eat and drink, tomorrow we will die anyway!
The apostle Paul was of the same mindset in his day, since we find this last quotation in one of his letters. He speaks of such people, for whom everything is in vain. And that is why this statement is so important: your labour is not in vain in the Lord! So the apostle knows of work and human life which he dares to say with absolute certainty is not in vain. There is work, then, which a man will never regret, which he will never regret the time, the sacrifice, the toil, which is really worth doing. And that is, in Paul's words: zeal in the work of the Lord! What is this "the Lord's work"? By this the apostle obviously means that his people should be zealous in obeying the Lord, in serving him, in doing his will. Generally speaking, I would say that all things are worth doing, all things are worth labouring for, all things are worth working for, all things that make the Lord Jesus' presence manifest to the world. It is not in vain, then, to speak and to act in a way that authentically affirms the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord in every area of human life! Supreme Lord, the only true Lord! This is still only a statement of principle, but what does it look like in practice?
First and foremost: it is worth my while to do all I can to make the Lordship of Christ as complete as possible in my own life, in my thinking and in my actions. I can tell you from truly personal experience that the time I have spent getting to know Jesus and deepening my communion with him has never felt wasted. I have never regretted the prayer I have said; I have never seen the waste of a biblical word that I have taken really seriously. I never felt that I had spent in vain, in vain, the money that I had spent for his glory in any way. I never felt it was a waste for the effort I spent in serving Him. But, conversely, I have very often regretted and felt in vain much of the time, sacrifice, and speech, which I have deprived Him of, spared Him, and spent for other things: for my own glory, comfort, pleasure; - then still further, I have never regretted the sin which I did not commit! I have never felt that it was a pity not to take advantage of the opportunity offered, for example, to taste a forbidden pleasure, or to make more money in a way that was not straightforward, or to retaliate for a man's wickedness towards me, or to commit any sin, great or small. However, I have often found the opposite to be futile. It was a pity! It was not worth it. - Someone said the other day. They say I'm a fool! - A student said, "Everyone cheats on their exams, but I'm supposed to be honest? They say I'm a nerd! - During holidays at the resort everyone crosses the boundaries of marital fidelity a little, should I just arrest myself? They say I'm a sucker! Is it worth it? Yes: worth it! In fact, it is only worth doing the will of God.
So it is worth everything, worth every sacrifice to make the reign of Christ in my life as complete as possible. It will never turn out to have been in vain! It is never in vain if I do what Jesus says in a particular situation. Not only inwardly, within myself, but also outwardly, towards the other person. The busy life in which all of you go about your daily work is a very significant occasion and place: namely, the place and occasion of the encounter of the Living Christ with the world. Yes, it is where you live and work that the world meets Jesus, and it is in the small, humble acts of your love and service. To do the Lord's work among men is practically to regard every man as one in whom Jesus himself asks and expects me to serve him. Jesus says in the person who lives and works beside me: love me, help me, serve me! So, here, now! And let us understand this in a large, universal context as well as in a personal context. Every person who wants to obey Christ has a responsibility for the life and well-being of the whole of human society. Each one of us, within our own limits and possibilities, is responsible before God for all political and social efforts to bring justice, freedom and peace to all people. For God, who has preserved this world - this world sealed by the blood of Christ - and keeps alive those who oppose him, wants order, justice and freedom to reign among men. Obedience to His will requires us to do all we can to make the coexistence of human beings as humane, just and equitable as possible; to seek to understand the economic, social and political problems of our time as well as possible and to help to solve them through our prayer and service. Yes: it is all "the Lord's work", it is all in this commandment: "be zealous for the Lord's work at all times" - which is not in vain, which is worth doing...
But even further: zeal for the Lord's work leads the believer into the midst of all the pain, suffering, and struggles of the world. He who prays thus: Thy will be done, and yet does not have a heart and hands ready to help in reality those who are hungry or cold, prisoners or sick - he is saying a false prayer! The cry for help of every person in distress should be heard by the Christian man as the call of Christ. We are called to be a neighbour to all those who are burdened with such heavy material or spiritual burdens that they cannot bear them alone. The Apostle Paul says on one occasion, "Who is sick, that I am not sick also?" For the Christian man, the encounter with the afflictions of the world means pain and suffering. Christ makes us all Christ, and so the pain of another is our pain. If someone is abused, we sigh; if someone is orphaned, we feel abandoned; if someone is wronged, we feel humiliated; if someone is ragged, we feel cold until we have clothed them; and if someone is homeless, we do not feel comfortable in our home until we have shared it with them. If someone is hurt, we cannot be cheerful; if someone is hurt, our faces and hearts are hurt. To encounter the sin of the world is thus suffering for us, but let me say in the words of the Word: this suffering is not in vain in the Lord! It is worth it! It is not a waste! You will never regret it!
And still further: this restless, mechanized society of ours, with its nervous tension and its hecticness, is not very conducive to a lifelong, pure love relationship between people: not in marriage, not in friendship, not in the church. We Christians should show the world the beauty and goodness of human love, which draws its inspiration from the love of Christ, and we should do our utmost to restore the beauty and reality of true love among people. A disappointed woman said the other day, "I have forgiven you so many times! It was all in vain. Is it worth it to go on enduring and loving man?" I said to her: If you are doing all this in the Lord, as doing the Lord's work, then it is worth it, because then what Paul says is true: Your labour is not in vain in the Lord!
Yes, every action, every word, every suffering that confirms the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord in every area of human life is not in vain. It has eternal significance and meaning. For we know that ultimately the Lordship of Jesus Christ alone remains and becomes universal in the universe. In the end, God's will will be done and His kingdom will come, realized in its fullness. This is certain! In fact, it is the only certainty! All else will pass away: no earthly disaster or power can prevent the realization of God's plan, the consummation of Christ's reign, the coming of the kingdom of God.
The Bible verse I am about to discuss is the last verse of one of the longest chapters of Scripture. It is preceded by a long discourse. It follows from what the verses before it describe. And there the greatest victory of the world is described: the victory of Jesus over death! That death does not have the last word, but the risen and living Jesus Christ, our Lord! God began the good in this world, so He will most certainly bring it to triumph. So a cup of water given in Jesus' name, a visit to a hospital made in Jesus' name, every little thing you have done in obedience to the Lord - all are a brick of the Kingdom of God being built: it will last forever, it will be in Him, it will be part of His glory to come! If you have the opportunity during the week to do something good for someone, to work for peace, to help, to forgive, remember: yes, this is what is worth doing, what is not in vain!
I read on a poster the title of a new film, Life is beautiful after all! - I don't know what the film is about, but I do know that anyone who stands strong in fellowship with the living Jesus, immovable, zealous for the Lord's work at all times, knowing his work is not in vain in the Lord - will truly experience that in all situations and circumstances, life is beautiful after all!
It is truly as the Psalmist confesses:
Blessed is the nation that rejoices in you,
All their works, O Lord, they shall do well.
Before thy shining face they walk boldly,
And in thy name they rejoice without ceasing,
For you exalt them to great glory,
And multiply your good deeds upon them.
(Psalm 89:7)
Date: 20 April 1958.