Your work matters deeply to God and his Kingdom, no matter what you do.
For a disciple of Jesus, there’s no “secular” work. To understand what I mean, we have to fully understand the gospel. Over the last hundred years, and in the religious tradition that many of us were raised in, we heard a form of the gospel that was true enough in its tenets yet incomplete.
The fact we haven’t understood the whole gospel often causes us to view our work as of little value to God or only valuable to the extent that it provides income that I can give generously or an opportunity to share my faith with my co-workers or others. These are essential aspects of our work, but if they were the only important aspects, it would mean that only a tiny portion of the time we spent at work actually matters to God or has redemptive value. That’s not true. Every bit of it matters, and it all has eternal value. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a pastor, or an educator like me, or a lawyer, or a business owner, or an accountant, or an engineer.
To completely understand why it matters, we have to understand the full gospel as revealed in the great and whole story of Scripture. In his great work on the redemptive use of power, Playing God, author Andy Crouch noted that every Christian has a “functional Bible”—a portion of Scripture, not necessarily the entire work, that they operate under to govern their lives, define their perspectives, and give their lives meaning and purpose. He observes that, for many Christians, our functional Bibles are missing four chapters— not four chapters of a dusty old book like Leviticus, but the first two chapters of Genesis and the last two chapters of Revelation. Many of us don’t really understand what these chapters say; therefore, we miss a vast portion of what God tells us about who we are created to be and what our eternal destiny and purpose are.
Jordan Raynor makes a similar point in his book, The Sacredness of Secular Work. He notes that most of us have embraced what he calls “an abridged” gospel—the purpose of Jesus’s incarnation and ministry, his death and resurrection, was to pay the penalty for our sins and to restore our individual right relationship with God. This abridged version of the gospel focuses on our role moving forward as the Great Commission, highlighted in Matthew 28, which we paraphrase as “Go and make disciples among the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Incidentally, we often forget Jesus added “ and teaching them all I commanded you,” which adds many other dimensions to the Great Commission than simply going and making converts.).
None of this is incorrect. It’s absolutely true and should be affirmed, celebrated, and obeyed. It’s just not the whole truth, or even the majority of it.
Jesus didn’t speak primarily about his ministry regarding personal salvation from sin. He spoke most often of his ministry as bringing forth “the Kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33, Mark 4:11, 4:26, 4:30, Luke 6:20). A simple way of describing the Kingdom of God (or the “Kingdom of Heaven,” as he alternately referred to it) is the active reign of God and his righteousness on the earth.
To clearly understand what that means, we have to realize the utter devastation of sin and the Fall of mankind in Genesis 3. When we sinned, rebelled against, and rejected God, it didn’t just create a rift between us and God that we couldn’t heal. In the words of Paul in Romans 8:20, the whole earth was subjected to futility. All of creation was damaged. Before the Fall, there was no disease, war, famine, or natural disaster. In the first two chapters of Genesis, we see that we were created in a perfect earth in perfect bodies that didn’t age, get sick, or die.
But that’s not all. After God created us, he gave our first parents a charge. In Genesis 1:28, he told them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” This is often called the Creation Mandate, but I consider it more to be an invitation, a gift from a loving Father to his children to participate with him in protecting, providing for, and overseeing the earth. “Be fruitful and multiply”—have” kids and fill the earth with people. “Fill the earth”- isn’t just a repeat of “be fruitful and multiply”- it’s an invitation to build things. God is inviting humans to take the things he’s created and make things with them. To make omelets from eggs, furniture and houses from trees and mud, and write symphonies and books on paper.
God created the earth with creative potential still to be unlocked, and he lovingly chose his children to help him unlock it through their work. You understand this feeling, because you feel it too when you let your child work with you in the garden or yard, or take them to the office, or hope that someday they’ll join you in the family business. It’s not necessarily that you need them; God doesn’t need us to make his purposes happen. But he loves us and wanted us to be with him in this great work. Finally, “subduing the earth” means serving as his steward or regent or co-ruler, providing for and protecting it.
After the Fall, work became hard. As God cursed the land and the people in sin,
“cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread” (Gen. 3)
The ground became cursed and unyielding. Work became hard. We either hated it, or we loved it too much, worshipping it, looking to it to meet needs that only God could fill-—security, safety, and self-worth. Because Satan and sin had taken control of the earth, humans were no longer its co-rulers or stewards. This is why, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his loyalty—because he had them to give.
But Jesus bled, died, and rose again to reclaim Satan’s kingdoms and atone for our sins. This is the complete gospel, rather than the abridged version. Jesus’ mission included saving us from our sins, defeating Satan, and also initiating the process of restoring God’s Kingdom on earth.
This mission will culminate in the final restoration of the earth, as depicted in the last two chapters of Revelation—“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev. 21: 1, 2). The earth will be restored to its former glory, and its perfect form. Our eternal destiny is not heaven, but to live in this New Jerusalem, this new city, together with each other and with God, in new, resurrection bodies, somehow like the ones we have now, but different and perfect.
But the cool part is we don’t just wait around until Jesus comes back to finally restore this city and this earth. He created and empowered us, his church, to begin this restorative, redemptive work now. We should certainly share the good news of Jesus with our friends, family, co-workers, and others so that they can know him too. That’s critical, but it’s not all by a long shot.
When Jesus redeemed us and redeemed creation, he restored the opportunity for us to “fill the earth and subdue it.” As his redeemed disciples, children of the living God, you are empowered with the ability to create, to build, and to steward the earth again. And everything you do will resonate in eternity. Did you notice that Genesis begins in a garden, and Revelation ends in a city? This is intentional; by the end, God has redeemed and unfolded creation, partly through your work. Right now.
This means that whether you’re a nurse, a lawyer, an accountant, an entrepreneur, a farmer, or anything else that’s legal and good, you are doing work that is being used by God to restore and renew his Kingdom. This applies to everything you do, every single day. What you do matters and is every bit as important to God, every bit as much an act of worship, every smidgen to his glory, as if you were a pastor or missionary (it’s fantastic to be a pastor or a missionary; it’s just not more important to Kingdom-building than the church custodian down the hall who is fighting back the dirt and creating beauty).
So, how do I do my job in a way that God is glorified and worshipped in my work, and I’ll be rewarded (as Scripture says we will)? Jordan Raynor talks about several ways. The Apostle Paul says to build on the foundation that Christ has set “with gold, silver, and costly stones.” (1 Cor. 3:11-15). Most interpret this as a call to perform your work with excellence, love, and in accordance with God’s commands. Do it “as unto the Lord.” Next, work hard, knowing that the Lord is your ultimate master. Third, as you suffer along the way (not if, but when), enduring insults and hardship because of your allegiance to Christ, rejoice that you are his and you are being rewarded. Fourth, use what you have earned to give to the poor, as Christ commands. Fifth, pray constantly so you will work with him and not simply for him. Sixth, do good to your enemies. How can I actually root for and work with my rivals in business and work, rather than plotting or working against them? Finally, offer kindness and hospitality to those who can’t repay you. How do you reach out at work and love people who can’t advance your career or work for your interests?
At Grace, we’re not just equipping pastors and missionaries to serve Jesus as the church. We’re helping our kids understand that all of life is worship, including their work. We want them to understand their gifts and passions and that God will use those for his glory in their work, regardless of what that is. They are furthering God’s Kingdom by doing work that has dignity and value for him.
Raynor notes that, among other things, worship is anything we do that brings a smile to God’s face. Your work, when done with excellence and purpose, does that. In this way, every day is a day of worship. Not just Sundays.
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