Our labor is not in vain

The deeds of Christians in this present time — however insignificant they may seem, however “vain” they may appear to those who value worldly success —— are already being built into God’s advancing kingdom. In other words, Christians do not simply look to the cross of Christ with prayerful reverence. We are set in motion by its power, energized by it, upheld by it, guaranteed by it, secured by it for the promised future because it is the power of the creating Word that “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Rom. 4:17). Our labor is not only “not in vain” but also has eternal significance because it is being built into God’s future in ways that we presently see “through a glass, darkly,” but in the fullness of time, “face to face” (I Cor. 13:12 KJV). —Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion,14