Labor Day is a week from today. It started in 1882 when workers in New York marched for fair wages. Christmas, on the other hand, started as a celebration of Jesus being born, and later it became associated with this saint named Nicholas, who was a fourth century bishop who gave away free gifts. So Labor Day is about what you earn. Christmas is about a free gift. The Bible speaks about a similar difference between what is earned and a free gift as well. Romans 6:23, for instance, says, The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Corinthians 3:14 says that if the work survives, you will receive a reward. So here's the metaphor. In the Christian life, Christmas comes first. Believe in Jesus and the gift of eternal life is yours. Labor Day comes after that. Be faithful to the Lord and the reward is yours.
People collapse these two all the time. They treat eternal life like a wage they have to earn, or they treat a reward like something God owes them just for believing. One is a gift. The other is a paycheck. I wrote Eternal Clarity to keep those two from turning into the same thing.
