Vocational Disciplines (6)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15.58

Always working
As Paul sees it, every act or deed, every exertion of energy in any activity whatsoever, is a form of work, and all work should be done “in the Lord.” Our calling to the Kingdom and glory of God is a matter of work, good works, and works that are greater and more varied than whatever may be our job.

When all our work, all our exertions in every area of our lives, are done “in the Lord,” we can have the assurance they will not be done in vain, but will disseminate His grace and redound to the glory of God in Whom and for Whose glory they are done.

All your conscious activities are exertions of energy – work. They must all be done “in the Lord,” that is, consciously before Him and for His glory, in His strength, according to His Word, as an expression or extension of His rule, for the demonstration of His living presence and love.  This is what it means to follow the “Yes” path that is Jesus. Paul says we must be “always abounding” in such work. Every moment, and everything that fills those moments, can be done in the Lord and thus bear fruit for Him.

But we must be steadfast about this – set, fixed, determined, unwavering, conscious – so that we engage and perform all our work in the Lord. Prayer can help us to sustain such an outlook. Planning and prioritizing is where realizing this outlook begins. Organizing the time of our lives and being prepared in all things to bring about the obedience which is due to King Jesus – this is what our vocation requires. And we must be immovable, always in all things remaining on task for the Lord, so that our work may demonstrate His presence, purpose, power, and promise.

And besides all that…
And as if that weren’t challenge enough, we must be careful to strive for excellence in all we do.

Paul commands us to approve things that are excellent (Phil. 1.10), to excel still more in our labors of love (1 Thess. 4.10 NASB), and that to do all things, whatever takes up the time in which we pursue our calling from the Lord, to the glory and honor and praise of God (1 Cor. 10.31).

What does this entail?

Recall Jesus at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (Jn. 2). When He turned the water into wine it wasn’t just your off-the-shelf-everyday wine; it was the best and rarest wine. Or when He instructed the disciples to cast their nets for a catch, how they didn’t just pull in a fish or two, but their nets were bursting with the sea’s bounty (Lk. 5.1-8; Jn. 21.1-6). Remember what He said about everyday encounters with people we might meet in the course of carrying out our vocation from the Lord: the extra mile, the tunic and the shirt, whatever you have that others need, the other cheek. And how the people admired the clarity, vividness, authority, and loftiness of Jesus’ teaching!

Excellence thus seems to involve going well beyond what is normally experienced or expected. In everything we’re called to do in the work appointed to us, we must try to envision that work as it would be most excellently accomplished, then go all out to make that precisely the case. Where there are clear standards – as in job descriptions or quality control guidelines – believers must strive to exceed them. Wherever we can go a little further, produce a little more, do a bit better work, acquire better understanding, improve our skills, or push ourselves just a little harder, there we will be in pursuit of excellence, the excellence that comes from the power of our risen and reigning Lord Jesus Christ.

Put another way, for the Christian, “good enough” must never be good enough. Excellence in all things, and all things to the glory of God: Whatever it takes to achieve this standard, we must pursue it, in all aspects of our calling.

No grumbling or complaining
We must neither boast in nor bemoan this call for excellence. We do not boast because, in striving for excellence we are only serving the Lord and loving our neighbors according to what is required of us. And we do not bemoan such a demanding commission because grumbling, complaining, blame-laying, and excusing ourselves do not fit into anyone’s definition of excellence.

In our calling to the Kingdom and glory of God we have much work to do, work which makes the best use of God’s time for demonstrating His love and advancing His rule on earth as it is in heaven. The work we’ve been given to do is greater than the job at which we work, and the standard to which we aspire, in every area of life, leads us to draw on the inward strength of the Lord, Who is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we could ever ask or think – in all things excellence, all for the praise and honor and glory of God!

Next steps: How do you feel about the level of excellence with which you are presently pursuing your calling from the Lord?

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Vocational Disciplines, is part 5 of a 7-part series on The Disciplined Life, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We have prepared a special worksheet to help you begin getting your disciplines in proper shape for seeking the Kingdom. Write to T. M. at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for your free PDF of the “Disciplined Life Worksheet.”

A rightly-disciplined life requires a Kingdom vision, and that vision is centered on Jesus Christ exalted. T. M. has prepared a series of meditations on the glorious vision of Christ, based on Scripture and insights from the Celtic Christian tradition. Order your copy of Be Thou My Vision by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.