Today we are going to continue our conversation about why I believe work matters to God. Two weeks ago we talked about what this series is all about, you can find that post here. Then last week we jumped into where work started… in the beginning, and you can find that post here. Today we are going to continue on and talk about something that I have found to be a huge encouragement.
Sweet friends, here is where this gets so good. We know from Revelation that our Father is coming back to redeem this broken earth and slay the dragon that is holding our world hostage. He will finally put an end to all evil and we will celebrate with him forever…and there will be work. Work is part of the end as well.
Didn’t expect that last part, did ya? That’s because the work we will experience in the new kingdom isn’t like the work we experience now. Revelation 22 says this:
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the sun or light of the sun, for the light of the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev 22:3-5)
Well first, let’s just take a deep breath and read that again. Soak it in. Imagine being totally claimed by our Savior, nothing standing betweenf. Imagine there is no more night, the light of the Lord keeps everything aglow. Ahh. Okay, now we can continue.
I love this passage because it gives us a little peek at what life will be like once His redeeming plan is complete. The earth will be renewed and sin-free. We will be in the presence of the Lord wholly and eternally. And do you see that part about His servants serving Him? That’s us! We will be serving Him in the new Heaven and Earth. In this context the Greek word “serve” means “to serve for hire, to worship, a hired menial.” To me, that sounds like work, just in a whole new way.
In this passage we receive a view of what work without sin looks like… service to God. Without sin holding us back we can run, arms wide open, to the feet of our Father. We can humble ourselves to lay everything we’ve got right at His feet and worship Him in the way we were designed to. That will be our work.
So how should we work now? I believe, in service to God. If we know and believe that God has already done the redeeming work through the cross and will finish the job in the end, we can step forward and live in that truth now. Right now. We can work in service to God in all that we do, in practice of what eternity will be like when it comes. Yes friends, we get to practice what eternity will be like by working out of service to Him. I believe the closest taste we have on earth to perfect and complete work, is to practice serving Him now and see Him in everything.
And because the work is already done on the cross we are free from that sin we talked about in the Genesis passage. Worry, stress, and anxiety does exist around us, but Christ’s stamp on our life has called us out of that. We have been given the freedom to work without this bogging us down.
With these truths in mind, how could we see work in any way except through His eyes? In Christ’s name you have been given a new mission! Not to see work as the world does, but to work out of sincerity of the heart and reverence to the Lord (Colossians 3:22-25), knowing what He has already done and what He has promised to finish.
Work is in the beginning.
And work is in the end.
Next week we will talk about what work looks like for us right now, here in the middle.
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