Another way of expressing the thought in this verse is: “Need and desire motivate labor.” This principle is illustrated every day. A child toying around with his dinner suddenly cleans his plate with determination once he realizes that the promise of dessert is dependent upon that dinner being finished. The disinterested reader stays up all night to finish the book they find interesting. This principle is the fuel of determined, productive action. It was this principle that enabled Christ to undertake the most arduous labor ever recorded. “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Labor without any context of reward is exhausting. Perhaps you are exhausted by labor that you find little meaning. Day after day of caring for small children, pile after pile of laundry, night after night of studying school assignments, moment after moment of resisting temptation. The list is endless, isn’t it? If you find yourself disinterested or perhaps even disillusioned by the duties of the Christian life, you need to stop and consider the bigger picture. The children whose noses never stop running will soon be grown and leading their own lives. Your investment in them right now will be determinative in how they live. That temptation you are tired of fighting will soon give way to a crown of righteousness. The diligence and effectiveness of your labor will directly result from how clearly you see the reward. The reward reveals the need, produces the desire, and motivates diligent labor. “Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”