Whatever You Do, Do This…
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
When God gives someone … the ability to enjoy … their work – this is a gift of God.
(Ecclesiastes 5:19)
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
(Colossians 3:23-24)
When God gives someone … the ability to enjoy … their work – this is a gift of God.
(Ecclesiastes 5:19)
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
(Colossians 3:23-24)
One of the most surprising moments in Genesis 2 is when it tells us that work is a good thing, created by God for us to enjoy long before the Fall. God commissioned the first humans to work the Garden of Eden and to take care of it. As anyone who has experienced the pain of unemployment can tell you, work is vital to our emotional well-being. If you are in paid or unpaid work, or in education, don’t forget that God regards your work as his good gift to you!
Many Christians find it hard to remember this. It is very easy to turn turn God’s invitation for us to partner with him in everything into something that includes our evenings and our weekends, but excludes our 9-to-5. That’s why the Apostle Paul gets so excited in Colossians 3. He sees how much the work of Jesus transforms the whole of our lives. Jesus has won back our authority to rule over the entire earth in partnership with God – not just in our homes and in our church, but at our schools and workplaces. Jesus infuses meaning into our day-to-day activities.
Paul says that all our studying, all our working and all our unpaid volunteering is an act of worship to him. He is a true employer. Whatever we do at home, at school or at work is an opportunity for us to partner with God.
Many Christians find it hard to remember this. It is very easy to turn turn God’s invitation for us to partner with him in everything into something that includes our evenings and our weekends, but excludes our 9-to-5. That’s why the Apostle Paul gets so excited in Colossians 3. He sees how much the work of Jesus transforms the whole of our lives. Jesus has won back our authority to rule over the entire earth in partnership with God – not just in our homes and in our church, but at our schools and workplaces. Jesus infuses meaning into our day-to-day activities.
Paul says that all our studying, all our working and all our unpaid volunteering is an act of worship to him. He is a true employer. Whatever we do at home, at school or at work is an opportunity for us to partner with God.
1) What do you like most about your work or study? What do you like least? How would it transform your day-to-day if you could grasp fully that ‘it is the Lord Christ you are serving’?
2) Why do you think we find it easier to expect God’s Kingdom to come through us in our free time than we do at work or school? Which ‘desert places’ in your 9-to-5 might God want to water through his Holy Spirit in you?
3) Do you find it more difficult to talk about the Lord when you are at work or school than you do elsewhere? If you do, then why do you think that is? How could you be more joined-up in the different areas of your life?
2) Why do you think we find it easier to expect God’s Kingdom to come through us in our free time than we do at work or school? Which ‘desert places’ in your 9-to-5 might God want to water through his Holy Spirit in you?
3) Do you find it more difficult to talk about the Lord when you are at work or school than you do elsewhere? If you do, then why do you think that is? How could you be more joined-up in the different areas of your life?
Father God, I thank you that you fill my workdays with real meaning. Help me to enjoy them as a good gift from you. Help me to grasp each day that it is the Lord Christ that I am serving. Help me bring your Kingdom there too. Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.