Rounding up time is here! A bitter-sweet moment to announce that after 30 episodes, it is time to round up this series of blogs.
Therefore, this, and the next few episodes will be to summarise and round up what we have discussed in the series.
The main aim, as stated in the title, is to encourage and support Christians to become true followers of Jesus Christ in the workplace.
We have established that the Lord commands that we be His Ambassador and witness everywhere. God is appealing to the world through us (2 Corinthians 5:20). He expects us to be the salt and light of wherever we are and to shine before others. This is for the singular purpose that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16).
The workplace as a very important place to represent Jesus Christ as that is where we spend most of our waking hours. Our specific aims therefore included:
- To live our best life for Christ at work
- Grow in discipleship as we learn from each other
- Find and fulfil our life purpose of service to the Lord
- Be impactful in reaching out to others with the gospel
- Keep our focus on making more disciples
It would be nice to hear from you if the series of blogs has helped you with any of the above.
Rounding up – Setting the Scene
The focus on using biblical texts to explore principles, applications, and Biblical workplace characters. And also, to use illustrations from personal, group, and third-party experiences wherever possible.
The ‘workplace’ for the blog was defined as any activities that we do for most of our days. That enables us to include volunteering and caring for our loved ones under the same umbrella of ‘work’.
It was made clear that this series of blogs are mainly for Christ’s disciples willing to obey the Lord’s commands in all areas of their lives, including the workplace.
We discussed the Biblical definition of work as that given by the Creator – God, to the first human on the planet – Adam. The instruction to Adam was to work the garden and take care of it (Genesis 2:15 NIV).
Unfortunately, Adam did not give us many examples of the way to work according to God’s instruction. He, with his wife Eve quickly fell under Satan’s spell and into sin and this changed the definition of ‘work’ on the planet.
What we saw was that God gave Adam much freedom and huge responsibility for dominion and decision-making over the earth. He made for Adam a wife (Eve) to compliment him. God then worked in partnership and fellowship with Adam and Eve before sin separated them from His presence.
After Adam came several other Bible characters, who gave us good and bad examples of how to work but there was no perfect example. That was until Jesus, the last Adam, who became the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The thirty-three years He lived on this planet gave us the template of how to live and work as God instructs.
Rounding up – work as worship to God
But we again ran into the difficulty that not much is available in scripture about Jesus the Carpenter that we can apply to our work today. The fact that not much is written about Jesus’s carpentry work led to my early summation that our secular job is not of much importance to God.
Sorry, I need to repeat this in case you missed it the last time – ‘’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.
Our entire life focus should be like that of Jesus Christ who started learning about God from a young age. And towards the end of His ministry on earth declares that ‘’My food,” is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’’ (Jon 4:34).
Rounding up – time to reflect
Have you had time to reflect on your job lately? Is the work you do an act of worshp to God and to bring glory to Him? Do you work to live or live to work?
As shown in our previous blog on reflection, working to live or living to work cannot be by God’s principles of work. We therefore need to reflect, examine ourselves and move from such positions if we find ourselves there. The Bible makes it clear in Colossians 3:23-24 that our work must be to the Lord who will reward us. John 6:27 also states that we must not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which Jesus will give us.
My reflection is that God, through his great mercy and divine intervention has provided me with relevant experience and training for my work in His Kingdom. God faithfully molded, moved, and guided me from the where all I cared for was how to make money to where I am today where I only want to work for His Kingdom. Hallelujah!
You can read my reflection in a previous blog https://fmministry.co.uk/how-can-i-be-a-true-follower-of-jesus-christ-at-work-setting-the-scene-3-personal-reflection
If you are still thinking about your life purpose and considering whether you are in the right job, two helpful resources were recommended:
1. Findmywhy is run by professional psychologists and can give you meaningful insight and clarity about what you can do for employment https://www.findmywhy.com/
2. The book ‘The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?’ by Rick Warren https://bit.ly/goolesearchpurposedrivenlife
Rounding up – Appreciation
As stated at the beginning, much of the material used in the blog will hopefully be used in a book soon to be published. The given title is ‘Subtle Evangelism: A Model of Workplace Christian Ministry?’ The anchor bible verse is Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’’. We finally got to this verse in blog number 30, praise God!
I would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the blog in one way or the other. Thank you for your time in reading and providing your feedback through various means over the months of writing. I look forward to your ongoing support as I may call on you for further feedback in writing the book.
Please continue to share with others and send your feedback and comments to hello@fmministry.co.uk or use the comment box below.
Be reminded that Fishers of Men Ministry is interested in offering support and encouragement to individuals and workplace fellowship groups so please drop us an email if you need advice or support in the area. You can also check out our website to see how you can get involved in this work https://fmministry.co.uk/getting-involved
God bless you and let us keep growing in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ
Adesina