Dear Friends,
I hope you and your loved ones are well. I hope you have managed to keep your job in these difficult times or that you have managed to move to a new area of work if necessary. Most importantly I hope you feel safe in whatever you do and that can only be if you know you have God on your side.
I want to use this blog to set further clarifications and to be clear that these blogs will only be of use to you if you are:
- A follower or disciple of Jesus Christ
- You have chosen to obey Him in all areas of your life
You will need to answer in the affirmative for both to get the full benefit of my blogs and I will come back to explain this later and in subsequent blogs.
But first I want to describe to you what I understand work to be.
Both worldly and Biblical definitions of work are are well-researched topics and simple Google searches on them will bring up many hits. One example of further examinations of the two can be read in https://bit.ly/sampledefinitions
Work is created to be beautiful and caring
The Biblical definition of work that I would be using throughout is that given by the Creator – God, to the first human on the planet – Adam. God formed Adam from the dust of the earth, breathed life into him, and then placed him in a beautiful garden He already created. God’s instruction to Adam was to work the garden and take care of it (Genesis 2:15 NIV). Other Bible versions read as, ‘to dress it and to keep it’, or to ‘to tend and guard and keep it’. This simple instruction has been a matter of serious theological debate, but I am sure every well-intentioned human will know the correct interpretation. You can read the full story of creation, the introduction of work, and the fall of man in Genesis Chapter 1-3.
Unfortunately, we did not get to see Adam use his Godly given instruction for work as by the next few paragraphs we are reading about the fall of man, the introduction of sin to the world, and the changed definition of work. The nature of work we now predominantly see is that which ensued after the fall of man and that will not be a focus of these blogs.
What we saw in that early part of the Bible is that God gave Adam some boundaries about what he can and cannot do. To be precise, God only told Adam one thing he must not do, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die”. Adam, of course, failed to obey God and we are all now facing the consequence of that act of rebellion.
We will note God’s intention for Adam to be happy and fulfilled hence the creation of Eve as ‘the helper’ suitable for him. We saw how the helper can lead one astray. We can also glean from the scripture that God was in a partnership relationship with Adam and Eve. For example, He gave responsibility to Adam to name all the living creatures and took walks with them in the garden.
After Adam came several other Bible characters, good and bad, who gave us examples of how we can work starting from Cain who worked the soil and Abel who kept flocks. These two also gave us an example of how we must offer the best portions of the proceed of our work to God. More notable examples of workers in the Bible are David, Gideon, Joseph, Daniel, Joshua, Apostle Paul, and so on. We will hopefully get opportunities to learn from many of these characters but we should make a note even now that none of them would be a perfect example.
Carpentry
For Christ disciples, the last Adam – Jesus, is our perfect example as He is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The thirty-three years He lived on this planet is the road map of how we should live our lives. His life story captures all the possible kinds of struggles we may face in all areas of our lives, including the workplace.
The challenge for us in using Jesus Christ as our model of work is that very little is written in the Bible about Jesus as a Carpenter which was His secular job. The Gospels, on the other hand, described in much detail the last three years of His life as a full-time minister of the kingdom of God. Because I believe the Bible is a complete instruction from God on how to live our lives, the fact that not much is written about the Carpenter Jesus is in my view, the best indication of how we should view our jobs.
Sorry to break it to you this way if you don’t already know – your job is not of any value to God if it is not directed to Him as an act of worship! The Bible urges all of us who are Christ-followers to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God as a response to His mercy on us (Romans 12:1). This is not a requirement for only 2 hours on Sunday when we go to Church but all the time, including whilst at work.
Jesus chose not to show us a detailed example of how to be a carpenter because that is unnecessary and would be impossible to replicate in other professions. Instead, He chose to show us how to live a complete life dedicated and focused on obeying God the Father, growing in the image of the Son, and overcome all of our struggles with the help of the Holy Spirit. He also inspired His written word, the Bible, so we can learn from other people’s experiences, be mindful of their mistakes, and focus on the good things we can do at work.
Jesus at the young age of twelve told His parents ‘’ why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’’ (Luke 2:49). This illustrates we have to start learning about God and serving Him from a young age. At age thirty-three, towards the end of His ministry on earth, He reminded His followers that ‘’My food,” is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’’ (Jon 4:34). This is where we must also finish our race, pressing on to give everything we have to God.
I hope if you are a Christ-follower as I am, you are now determined to get better in knowing how you may obey Him more at work.
If you do not yet know Christ, may I ask that you take some time to reflect on your life and what you place your hope in for the future? Jesus Christ is the only one who can give you peace and satisfaction on this earth, but much more importantly, He is the only one who can guarantee you eternal life of peace and Joy with Him when you die or when He returns.
Jesus Christ is offering this gift of eternal life to anyone who will place his or her faith in Him. All He asks is that you recognise you are not perfect (a sinner), that you sincerely repent of your past sins, that you put your faith in Him, and ask Him to come into your heart and help you live a life of obedience from now on. You may pray to Jesus in your own words using the above pointers and as He promised in His words, He will come into your life.
If you just prayed the above prayer of salvation, may I request you let someone who you recognise as a follower of Christ know so they may encourage you in your discipleship journey? You may also look for a local Bible-believing church to join as that would be helpful in your growth.
We will like to hear from you if you have decided to become a Christ-follower or if you have any need for more information or support. Please email us at hello@fmministry.co.uk.
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God bless you and let’s keep growing in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adesina