Central Abbotsford

It is Labour Day weekend! Depending on your life circumstances and personality, this might mean a variety of different things for you. For the fashion-conscious, this is the last opportunity to wear white (for a reason that I do not understand). For the Canadian sports fan, this is the weekend for rivalry games in the CFL. And, of course, for everyone who is a student, or a parent of one, or a teacher, Labour Day signifies one thing – back to school. Whatever the main association for you, though, we all seem to agree that Labour Day primarily means the symbolic end of summer.

Labour Day’s original intention, however, was not simply a useful boundary marker for the end of a season. Because it’s just one of those holidays that has existed throughout all of our lives (provided you’ve lived them here in North America), you might never had wondered where the holiday came from.

In both Canada and the United States, Labo(u)r Day dates to the late 19th century, being made a federal holiday in both countries in 1894. The holiday arose out of advances made by the organized labour movement throughout the continent, such as the legalization of trade unions, the introduction of collective bargaining, and legal reductions to the length of work days. The holiday was therefore created as a celebration of hard work, industriousness, and the strength inherent to working together.

As Christians, these are all virtues that we encourage. We teach our kids to work hard and be diligent, and point to any number of Bible verses that endorse these concepts. Proverbs 21:25 – “The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10b – “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Ecclesiastes 4:12b – “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” You may have heard of the term “the Protestant work ethic”; verses like these serve as its basis.

Yet, as eager as we are to celebrate hard work as a good thing, it can also become a source of theological tension. We believe, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8, that it is only by grace and through faith that we have been saved through faith. Moreover, this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God. We rightfully get uneasy when the idea of our own labours is tied to salvation.

And yet, we read a verse like James 2:17 – “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” And, though some might, like Luther, wish to relegate the book of James to a lesser status by deeming it an “epistle of straw”, consider Paul’s words in Romans 2:13 – “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” The New Testament apostolic witness seems consistent on this point – there is some connection between work and salvation. But what is it?

As James continues in his chapter, he refers to two very different Old Testament characters, Abraham and Rahab, as evidence for his words. The story of Abraham, of course, encompasses a significant portion of the book of Genesis, whereas Rahab’s arc is limited to a very short section of the book of Joshua. And yet, in both cases, we see that the actions of these people serve as demonstrations of their faith. Both Abraham and Rahab, in very diverse ways, displayed through their works and actions that they trusted God as the One who has authority over life and death. Both possessed a faith lived out in works – a living and active faith.

The Christian philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard famously wrote that “grace is not opposed to effort, but to earning.” Indeed, this sentiment is the basis of every time a preacher applies a theological truth based in the gospel in the form of a call to a certain type of behaviour! Salvation by grace and through faith does not exist on an island, devoid of application in our life; instead, we are to respond to this theological truth with a life marked by love for God and others as displayed in what we do. In other words, you are not a Christian because of your good works, you do good works because you’re a Christian.

So, this year, as you celebrate Labour Day, remember that God has made you, and given you grace, so that you might live for Him – working hard because of what He has already accomplished in you.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

– 2 Corinthians 9:8