“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24 NLT)
In yesterday’s post we began investigating how our view of work should be very similar to our view of worship. We should do both with a heart to please and honor Jesus, as He’s the same Lord we’re seeking to please and honor on Monday and throughout our week as He is on Sunday.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be singing praises and waving your hands at work, but you’re just as much a child of God through the week as you are on Sunday. Act like it! Live like Jesus matters. Don’t defile His holy name by pretending to be someone on Sunday you know you’re not going to be on Monday.
Your life – your body, mind, and soul – are sacred trusts that you’ve committed to the Spirit to do with as He sees fit. View what you do outside of church and apart from fellowship with your believing friends, with the same degree of purity and sacred commitment.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:7: “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Our desire to honor and please the Lord should be just as strong as we’re working, or playing, or dating, or whatever we’re doing throughout the week, as it is on Sunday or on whatever day you participate in corporate worship.
God said to Jeremiah the Prophet: “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.” There’s a sense in which that’s true of every person, especially those of us who follow Jesus.
“Whoa, wait a minute. If I’m chosen by God before I was even born, to be set apart for a special work, doesn’t that mean I’m like a robot? What happens to my free-will? Does that mean I can’t have any fun or hang out with my buds?”
There are theological implications to how I answer these questions, but I can only answer as I understand the Scriptures. Search the Bible on your own and draw your own conclusions, I can only tell you what I believe, but NEVER take what I say at face value. Prove me right or prove me wrong but draw your own conclusions.
How I understand Scriptures like the one in Jeremiah has a two-fold application. First, I believe these words were written specifically in reference to Jeremiah the Prophet, but they have implications that can be applied to any of us.
John wrote in John 1:11-13: “He (Jesus) came to His own people (the Jews), and even they rejected Him. But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”
This is too rich to rush. Let’s continue to look at this in tomorrow’s post.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 