Work Matters (1)

“I have glorified You on earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” John 17.4

How can we glorify God?
In these last days, God is advancing an economy on earth which stands out in stark contrast to the self-seeking, materialistic, getting-and-spending economy of our secular age. The Kingdom economy of God has as its end the glory of God, by the furthering of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit into all the time, situations, relationships, roles, and responsibilities of human life.

As those who are called to the Kingdom and glory of God (1 Thess. 2.12), the followers of Jesus Christ receive the gift of time and strive to make the best and wisest use of it, investing the time of their lives with good works of faith and love, so that our time brings a return of glory to God.

Most of us will recognize and readily concur in the answer to the first question of The Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is man’s chief end?” “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” Of course we are to glorify God; every believer knows and accepts that.

But how? How shall we glorify God? By going to church and worshiping with all our might? Partly – perhaps, even, primarily. By joining a Bible study and sharing together with others over the Word? That could help. By practicing prayer and treating our families well, and loving our neighbors as ourselves? All that matters, too.

But the real answer to the question of how we may glorify God in this life is to live this life the way Jesus did. Jesus embodied a new economy, a radically different way of living that brought the then and there of eternal life into the here and now of everyday people and events.

In His great High Priest’s prayer to the Father, Jesus acknowledged that He had glorified God during His time on earth. A little later He would tell His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn. 20.21). Jesus glorified the Father and, we have been sent to glorify the Father – in the same way that Jesus did.

So how, we should ask, did Jesus glorify the Father?

Our work can glorify God?
By His work.

Jesus was sent to earth to work, in a calling uniquely His own, appointed to Him by the Father. He fulfilled that work, as He reported to His Father in prayer, and, in the process, brought glory to God. By His work, Jesus put God boldly and brightly on display for all to see. By His work Jesus reconciled sinful men with God, and brought the Kingdom of God to living reality in the world of space and time. By His work Jesus challenged the reigning regimen of status, hierarchy, and privilege, commending in its place an ethic of love for God and neighbors. By His work Jesus set loose the power of His Spirit unto righteousness, peace, and joy on earth. By His continuing work at the Father’s right hand, He is making all things new (Rev. 21.5).

The work Jesus did was the leading edge of His witness, and of the witness of the first Christians (Jn. 5.17-23, 36; Acts 10.34-49). Jesus’ work mattered; it was by His work that Jesus glorified God on earth.

Jesus insisted that all who followed Him must do the work of bringing light into darkness, truth to overthrow the Lie, and love to even the unlovely. Thus they would advance the rule of the Kingdom economy into every area of life (Jn. 9.4, 5). This was the work Jesus did, and, in these last days, He has sent us into the world to continue that work (cf. Acts 1.1-8; Jn. 14.12). This is how the Kingdom economy comes into being on earth as it is in heaven.

As with our Lord Jesus, God has given to each one of us a unique calling, a custom-tailored agenda of work to do, and He expects us to do that work in ways that bring glory to Him and further His Kingdom economy.

In these last days, the time of our lives is entrusted to us daily for the work of bringing light into the darkness in all we do.

In our work – all our work, whatever our work may be – God intends to refract His weighty, mysterious, joyful, arresting, good, loving, holy, and transforming presence, so that the way we work and the amount of work we do will stand out over and above those who are merely working to get by in life.                                                

Work matters!
Work matters, and not just for earning a living or keeping up appearances. Work matters to God, for He intends to glorify Himself in our work, just as He did in the work of His Son. No, we don’t have the same work that Jesus did; we have the work God has appointed to us, and He is able to enter into that work and through it to show Himself in His glory to the watching world. And even though that work may seem as small and insignificant as a widow’s mite (Lk. 21.1-4), still, we are to seek the glory of God in it – we are to work with all our “mite” in whatever we do for the glory and praise of God (1 Cor. 10.31).

Further, the work we’ve been given to do in these last days is greater than the job at which we work. Work requires thought, planning, exertion, skill, assessment, improvement, and more. We have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph. 2.10), and we must be ready and zealous for them at all times, in every situation and circumstance of our lives (Tit. 2.14, 3.1, 14). All the work of our lives matters to God, and should matter to us for the Kingdom economy the Lord is advancing in these last days.

Work matters, and the work we’ve been given to do is greater than the job at which we work. While we’ll want to work hard at glorifying God in our jobs, we’ll need to be equally earnest and diligent to seek the glory of God in all our work.

But that means, first of all, we have to identify the work we’ve been given to do. Then we may proceed to understand just what it takes to glorify God in our work.

Questions for reflection
1.  What do we mean by saying the work we’ve been given to do is greater than the job at which we work? Do you agree?

2.  All believers are being called to the Kingdom and glory of God (1 Thess. 2.12). How does this relate to the work we do?

3.  The Kingdom economy comes to light on earth as in heaven through the work of the Kingdom’s citizens and ambassadors. What does this mean for you and your walk with and work for the Lord?

Next steps – Preparation: Have you identified the work to which God is calling you for His Kingdom and glory? Make a list of the things that make-up your “job description.” Now try to match some specific Scriptures to each of these as guidelines for prayer. Begin praying your list daily.

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 3 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “Work Matters” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here. Start your day in the Word of God. Study with T. M. in our daily Scriptorium newsletter, as he walks us through the ongoing work of Christ in the book of Acts. You can subscribe to receive Scriptorium each day at 5:00 am Eastern, or go to the website to download each week’s study in a free PDF.

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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.