Work Matters (7)

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 1 Corinthians 3.12, 13

Well done?
A day is coming, the Scriptures advise us, when all the work we have done will be put on display for all the world, the angels, the saints departed, and the Lord of glory to inspect.

The Lord will scrutinize how we have managed our jobs, cared for our possessions, grown in the Lord, served our neighbors, and reached out to the lost. All the work we’ve been given to do will be brought into the searching light of God and His Word.

At that time, it will be clear and visible to all just how grateful we have been to the Lord for all His good and perfect gifts, how much we have cherished the salvation He freely gave us, and how earnest and devoted we were to the work He had given us to do.

And then we will hear person after person from every age and tribe and tongue rejoicing as King Jesus says to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of My Kingdom.”

If this day, and this expectation and hope, are not the driving force for every aspect of our lives and work, then it is doubtful we have really understood the Good News of the Kingdom or received the salvation freely offered to us by the King.

That’s pretty hard language, I know, but let’s face the reality: If we have not submitted to Jesus as Lord of every area of our lives, all the work we’ve been given to do, then we are still living for ourselves, not Him. We are attempting to build on the foundation of His glorious redemptive work an edifice of wood, hay, and straw, and one day that will be eminently and sadly clear for all to see.

Work as gratitude
We can look forward to that day with hope, and with the anticipation of joy unending, to hear the Lord’s commendation of our work. But let’s be clear: We do not work in order to earn our salvation; rather, we work for the Lord in all the ways we’ve been discussing because we are grateful for what He has given us, and we want everything we are and do to focus on Him and His beauty, majesty, goodness, and glory.

We take up the work we’ve been given to do gratefully, not grudgingly, because we understand, as Jesus did, that it is by our work that we honor, extol, display, celebrate, and advance the Kingdom economy of our Savior and our God.

Thus the work we’ve been given to do builds on the work Jesus did, and invests the time of our lives with Kingdom vision, focus, and strength.

Building on the work of Jesus
So how can we build on the work of Jesus to ensure a joyful outcome on that great and final Day of review?

Five quick suggestions: First, be always about the work of the Lord (Jn. 9.4). What could be more important for your time than seeing and prosecuting every aspect of your life as part of God’s work, so that you faithfully carry out all the work by which you may bring glory and honor to Him? Whatever occupies the time of your life that is not the work of the Kingdom has no business being in our time at all. Jesus was always about the work of the Lord, and so we should be as well.

Second, keep your eye on the eternal horizon and work always unto the Lord (Jn. 6.27; Col. 3.23, 24). In other words, work as if that Day of review was upon you at every moment. Be eager to please God above all else in all your work. Commit your work to the Lord in prayer (Ps. 90.12,16, 17), and review your work each day, giving thanks to God and asking Him to use your work for His glory.

Third, keep on the path marked out by the Law of God (Matt. 5.17-19; 1 Jn. 2.1-6; Eph. 2.10). We have been saved to do the good works ordained from of old and set forth in the holy, righteous, and good Law of God. The better we know that Law, the greater will be the likelihood of our actually carrying out its good works, thus demonstrating the wisdom of God in all we do (Deut. 4.6).

Fourth, seek out like-minded co-laborers (1 Cor. 3.5-9). Sharpen, encourage, assist, and challenge one another to do all your work as unto the Lord.

Fifth, get the rest God wants you to have – each day, and especially on the Lord’s Day. We will be better prepared to do the work of the Lord throughout the week if we will rest from our work in the Lord’s Presence on His appointed day.

We need to be serious about the work by which we glorify God, and we need to be serious about the rest He requires. So let us work for the glory of the Lord, as Jesus did, looking forward each day to the coming day of commendation and glory!

For reflection
1.  Suggest some criteria by which you might evaluate your work each day. What will tell you that your work has been “well done”?

2.  How confident are you at this time that all the time of your life is being devoted to the work which glorifies God and advances the Kingdom economy? Explain.

3.  What does it mean to you to be building on the work of Jesus in the work God has appointed for you?

Next steps – Preparation: Spend some time thinking about the work you’ve been given to do in the light of this study. Can you identify some “next steps” for ensuring your work will be more likely to glorify God?

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.