A labour of love.

Today I am doing something I never thought I would be doing again other than helping in my own home. 

Over the years of my life, I have found myself doing many things I never thought I would end up doing. I have climbed high up into the steeple of a church and out into the belfry beside the cracked bell that on a Sunday made a horrible discordant note. Thinking nothing of health and safety with the help of another we fitted speakers and ran cables so that the bell could be replaced with a recording of various bells. Some may have thought this was not what bell ringing was meant to be but to the ears of many it did the task of bringing out the sadness at funerals the joy at weddings and it called the people to praise on Sunday. The job was done and done with love.

I have climbed on old factory roofs to recycle the rafters to replace the beams in a church building that was in danger of collapsing. 

I was there to be a minister and pastor and preacher but I saw all of those tasks as part of that calling.

I saw a sticker on the rear window of a car it read, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." 

For a vast portion of people, that's the best reason they can muster for going to the job each day. 

According to a recent poll, only 43 per cent of office workers are satisfied with their jobs. In Japan, the figure dips to 17 percent.

In the first century, Christian slaves had even less reason to be enthusiastic about their work. But Paul gave them a way to grasp a glimpse of glory amid the grind. He wanted them to give of their very best in spite of their circumstances. He said that this is how to show the beauty of their faith in the quality of their work. 

A significant and often overlooked fact is the way we engage in the tasks of life. 

Martin Luther, the famous Protestant preacher understood this when he wrote, "The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors." 

The shoemaker fulfils his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes because he is interested in good craftsmanship. 

So I go to put up the Christmas tree in the centre of the village. I am hoping that all goes well and that the lights that will glow out from it tonight will speak to all who pass it in the days that lie ahead. I hope they fill the hearts of all and then I can feel that I have once again done something as a labour of my love of people.

Have a great day and those who are now well and truly caught up in the hustle of this time of the year remember it is a thing of joy you are doing and it should not fill you with stress.