Did it ever occur to you that your work matters to God?
We know that God wants us to love our family, love our neighbor and be committed to a local church body. Yes! These are key areas in which we can demonstrate God’s love in and us through us.
But, what about those 40-60 hours per week we all spend called work. This title of “work” covers those who tend to households or volunteer time in the community as well. What do we make of those many hours spend laboring or nurturing others? This thing we call work is HOLY.
In Genesis, one of the curses of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as a result of human sin was “you shall toil”. The curse of sin brings “toil” to our work. In fact half or more of all Americans report to hate their job and hate working. But, living into the curse of “toiling” is contrary to discovering “calling” and “fulfillment” in our work offered us in Jesus Christ. Think of the power of us Jesus People eschewing the curse and living our vocations as a state of blessedness and a platform from which to be a blessing, a light and a source of love to others. Jesus offers this joy as an alternative to toil. Our vocational puzzle is to find the keys to this joy and live them in our work for the sake of a world waiting to be re-born.
You and I spend more time at work than any other single place during the week. In our work we both “create” and “preserve” culture. Partnered with Christ in his New Creation, we are co-laboreres in the massive reconciliation and renewal project that God has undertaken in Jesus Christ to re-claim a lost and ruined world. Your work matters to God. In fact, I am going to take the leap that should be taken by all pastors and church leaders:
1) Your work at your vocation is more critical to God than any other contribution you can make to the world outside of your family. Work is a showcase of our gifts, our character and our spirituality coming together for a very specific and redemptive purpose. If you work in the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, you are more important to the wellness of society than any vocational pastor like myself.
2) Your vocation is the most mature and complete measure of your walk as a follower of Christ. It is in the market place that “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts and lives in Christ Jesus.”
Teachers, you hold the actual future in your hands as you deal with difficult and gifted kids. High Tech workers are connecting the world and helping us better understand ourselves and each other….and helping us do more work more quickly and with more excellence. Contractors are building safe, warm, energy efficient places to live and work. Those in the sciences are doing important work to help us understand, preserve and improve life. All your work is important to God and vital to the rest of us.
Perhaps it is time for the church to ask: What can we do to better prepare, motivate and support you in your vital work in Christ’s New Creation through your vocation?
Jesus is at work in and through you. let it rip!
Much Love,
Randy Rowland