Love's Labour Not Lost

By Lunminthang Haokip *

The big gathering at MMC-NEI, Molnoi, Manipur

MMC-NEI Office Inaugurated: On the 30th July, 2011, Methodist Mission Church, North-East India, which had become a functional separate entity since the month of March, 2011, inaugurated a rented 4-room ground-floor concrete apartment as its regional office at Phaipijang, Langol, Imphal. This author was invited to declare the temporary office open. Sensing the attention of the freshly-ordained MMC-NEI Pastors, I lost no opportunity to enthuse and cheer up the servants of God with a solid message based on the first two verses of Hebrews Chapter 12.

Beseeching them to "lay aside every weight" in the full glare of a "so great a cloud of witness" and "run with patience" with eyes solely focused on "Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith". That the modest audience lapped up every Word divinely revealed for the day gave me a shot in the arm to passionately pray and preach more heart-searing sermons in the future.

Morning Message At Molnoi MMC Church: July 31, 2011: I was glad to notice that the big MMC-NEI Church, standing tall and conspicuous on the National Highway 39, about 45 Kms from Imphal on the Moreh road, at last had equipped itself with a sound-system that is clearly audible to everyone sitting on the pew of the 1200-capacity meeting hall. I could see a thousand Church members filling up the widened expanse of the building in no time.

This singular regular act of obedience in trying to outdo one another in rushing first to Sunday-morning Church-service with jealous zeal, more than anything else, served as a potent incentive to me, the preacher of the occasion, to deliver a recharged message I did not fancy I was capable of giving. The Spirit of the Lord humbled me to pour out the burden of my heart to a people whose ordeal I myself went through.

Eunice Haokip Testified: My daughter, Dr. Eunice Haokip, presently posted as Medical Officer in the office of Moreh Sub-district hospital, was invited by the local Church to share her testimony as to how she met her Lord. It was the first time she was doing so in Molnoi MMC-NEI Church.

The Text: Matthew 11:28, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest".

The Selfish Call: "The world beckons us to come to its fold", I began on familiar note. "The Army campaigns youth recruitment. Politicians lure young electors to vote for them. SAI wants to catch the talented young. AIS Recruitment Boards desire to enrol the top-brains of the land into their cadres. But all these invites smack of a selfish motive to add honour and prestige percentage to the entreating authority. No mental and physical rest can be guaranteed to the respondent.

When Jesus says, come unto Me, He sees our restless forays, means our own good and wants to provide the remedy to our manifold maladies. We can only reject such a mercy-laden plea from the God-Man unto whom 'All power is given in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18)' at our own peril. The diligent few who heeded in time such an assuring call had seen their spiritual stocks soar beyond expected heights. The scoffers of the Word of grace reeled in disgraced sorrow under the unbearable weight of the guilt of their deliberate denial of the Lord.

The Burdens We Carry: "Burdens differ from person to person. It could be penury to some and verbal injury to others. Many endure thorns in the flesh that do not show any sign of healing even in the distant future. The unforgiving would rather take a long diverted detour than criss-cross on the road with the man he hates bitterly. Some parents shoulder the heavy waywardness of their children and some children cannot unload the burdensome mistakes of their parents.

To the Church, the sponsored Bible scholar who converts Theology into convenient Me-ology is a future liability. To the vacillating believer who remixes the law of God with that of men's tradition is simply buying spiritual trouble for himself. But all these weighing scales of mental torment are nothing compared to the weight of guilt in a sinner. 'I have sinned. . . . . .I am a burden to myself? (Job 7:20)'. Sin, for sure, makes one a heavy burden to oneself.

Lmt preaching at Molnoi on 31 July, 2011

Systematic Loading Of Burden?: Riding a brand new vehicle is a joy to the owner. But when something goes wrong with its mechanism and the car conks out midway, it becomes a huge burden. The only way to put the four-wheeler back on the road and make it serve the purpose it was made for is to take it to the maker and get it repaired. Before the first parents succumbed to the landmark temptation of Eden garden, life was hassle-free. Sin of disobedience turned their world upside down. The devil gave a false hope to Eve that eating the forbidden fruit, she would gain the knowledge of good and evil.

Her distrust of God's warning cost her dearly. Reliance on the beguiling word of the master liar resulted in a perverted paradox. Post sinning, the good Eve came to know, she could not do; and the evil she knew,A she could not undo. We all were conceived in sin to inherit the fallen nature of Eden. The Lord knew better about us than we know about ourselves. So he said, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden and i will give you rest'.

Love's Labour Lost: "Of fruitless labour, who could teach better than king Solomon himself? After creating massive assets like houses, gardens, pools, silver and gold, was he contented? No. Instead, he lamented in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 10 and 11, 'And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour'.

'Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun'.

In our own small way, we all had undergone the Solomon-syndrome and tasted the vanity and futility of our own labours. Pride holds back impulses to reveal details as to how our hard labours boomerang on us to become frustrating liabilities. All said and done, why on earth should we tire our brain and strain our nerves just to bring to ourselves "vexation of spirit?". God created us to find rest and true pleasure only in doing His will. Solomon learnt the great lesson the hard way. We don't have to, after reading the wise king's recorded experiences.

How To Unload Burden?: Confession of sin is the only means to remove the weight of guilt in our burdened hearts. The prodigal son decided to confess to his father. The guilt was gone and he regained his lost son-ship with a bang. The dying thief confessed his transgressions and instantly got a berth in heaven. It unburdens the heart and as a bonus, assures salvation too. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10;10)".

You will be willing to confess only when you go to the Saviour in deep penitence and total brokenness. Only there and then, will you find the rest you desperately seek.

Lunminthang Haokip

* Lunminthang Haokip, a resident of Old Lambulane, Imphal and posted at Moreh, Manipur is a regular contributor to e-pao.net. He can be contacted at lunminthang(dot)haokip(at)gmail(dot)com or his blog here
This article was webcasted on August 22, 2011.