In the beginning, God was
working. He created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rested from His
labors on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2,3). God took the world He created and
put it in the hands of the being created in His image: man (Genesis 1:28 — The
word for God in this passage means the entirety of the Godhead: Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. The Godhead was working.) Man was put to work. He was to dress and
keep the garden (2:15). He was to name every creature (2:19,20). Before Adam
had a wife, Eve, he was already expected to work.
When Jesus was sent to
this earth to save mankind, He was given work to do. Jesus said, “My Father
worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). In verse 36, Jesus made it clear
that He did carry out the will and work of the Father. He came not to do His
own will but the will of the Father who sent Jesus (6:38). The work of God was
so important to Jesus that He even described it as more of a priority than His
food. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work”
(4:34).
Work is not a bad thing
or something to be hated. In fact, work is a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 2:24;
3:13; 5:19). As we work, we should give it energy and effort. “Whatever your
hands find to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave where you are going” (9:10). A similar
passage is found in the New Testament in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do
it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men.” God has provided us with a great
gift with many benefits in being able to work.
With our work, we are
able to provide for our families (2 Thessalonians 3:8-10; 1 Timothy 5:8). With
our work, we are able to provide for those who are in need (Ephesians 4:28). With
our work, we are able to give back to God in gratitude for all He has done for
us, including the physical blessings of life (1 Corinthians 16:1,2; 2
Corinthians 8:1-5,9; 9:6,7). Work allows us to take care of our
responsibilities to our families, the needy and to God. (There are many
blessings in being a worker. We will examine these another time.)
The Godhead has proven
their hard work in giving us life, breath and all things (physical blessings)
and in giving us a new birth, a new family, and the hope of eternal life
(spiritual blessings). We in turn are expected to work in a physical manner (as
mentioned above) and in a spiritual manner, carrying out the mission of God.
Paul wrote, “Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”
(1 Corinthians 15:58). How much work are we doing? How many people are we
helping in a physical manner? How many people are we helping in a spiritual
manner? Brethren, we should be praying for the lost, praying for our brethren
to grow stronger, and praying that the work of the church is successful in our
families, community and world. More than that, we ought to be working to preach
and teach the gospel to a lost and dying world. We should be telling the world
about the Savior.
The mission, to seek and
save the lost (Luke 19:10), isn’t just the mission of Christ, or the
responsibility of the elders, or the goal of the preacher. It should be the
heart and motivation of each member of the body of Christ. I know I can’t do it
alone. Bill and Rick can’t do it without us. We need each other. It will take
all of us if we are to reach the community with the gospel of Christ. Working
together, we can overcome the obstacles. Two are better than one...and a
threefold cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
In coming weeks, we are
going to have several special opportunities for study, fellowship, growth and
evangelism. Let’s get to work in bringing our friends and family with us for
our summer series, for the youth summer series, for the camps, for our VBS and
in some new opportunities coming this fall. More than that, let’s get to work
telling the world about Christ. It’s time for us to get to work! I need your
elbow grease!
— Denny Wilson
