The Gospel Redeems Our Relationship with Our Work
We have a complex relationship with work, don’t we?
When God created Adam, work was a significant aspect of his identity. Genesis 2 tells us that God planted a garden in Eden. When He had finished, He tapped Adam to be its caretaker: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). Adam was created to work in God’s creation. Remember, God called this arrangement “very good.”
It wasn’t until sin entered the picture that humankind’s relationship with work became problematic. When God was passing judgment on Adam for his rebellion, He cursed the very labor He had created Adam to undertake: “. . . cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:17–19). Suddenly, work was no longer a holy part of humankind’s divinely created intent. Like every other aspect of Creation, work had been impacted by the decaying effects of sin. And we’ve struggled with our relationship with work ever since.
But there is good news. The work Jesus did to redeem us also has a redeeming effect on our work.
The new life we have in Christ empowers meaningful work. We can approach our work in such a way that it is an offering to God. Jesus empowers a proper understanding of our relationship to our work and identity if we have eyes to see it.
All work can be meaningful work.
One of the foundational truths my wife and I strive to live by is that Jesus purchased our lives with His life, and we should, therefore, endeavor to spend our lives well. This is what Paul meant when he said that we should “let [our] manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27). This means that we must see our lives through the lens of the great potential God holds for the time He has blessed us with on this earth. This flavors how we see many things, but especially our work.
I believe the calling of Christ-followers is to commit ourselves to meaningful work. How do we do this? Proverbs 16:3 provides some insight. “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” Work committed to God is consecrated work that has been devoted to God’s glory. And the amazing news is that any morally upright task, any effort, can be committed to God. No matter how lofty. No matter how mundane. Because we are made new creations in Christ when we come to saving faith in Him (2 Cor. 5:17), our work can also be made new.
What does this look like practically? A few different ways. It’s about mindset. We must willingly see our work as committed to God. We must see our work as an offering. It’s about attitude. Paul says we must “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward” (Colo. 3:23-24). It’s a desire. We must desire in our hearts that, in some way, our work is advancing the Kingdom of God. We must want our work to be meaningful to God in accordance with His plan to reconcile this world to Himself. Our work becomes meaningful When we adopt this posture and intent. And Proverbs 16:3 says that God will honor it,
Jesus Redeems Work.
If you want to see a picture of what it looks like to ponder our work and labor without the vantage of the redemption offered to humanity through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, spend some time in Ecclesiastes. Solomon spares no words for how labor and work are viewed apart from a purpose dedicated to God:
“What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” - Ecclesiastes 1:3
“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 2:11
“Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.” - Ecclesiastes 4:4
“All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.” - Ecclesiastes 6:7
Where do we see in Scripture the effects of the Gospel redeeming our work? Quite a few places. In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” In Colossian 3:17, he says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” In Christ, the concept of work transforms from something cursed and empty to a vehicle for God’s glory.
In Jesus, there is a great undoing. Sin’s power was robbed. Death’s finality was rewritten. Legalism’s chains were broken. Division’s walls were torn down. And so much more. In Christ, God made it possible for the curse of labor to be unworked if we only learn to embrace this reality. Hard work is still hard work. But because the purpose of that work has been redeemed, God has woven Kingdom-honoring potential into the work He has called us to do.
We have the freedom to work hard.
My friend Rick Burgess has a saying: “God’s boundaries are blessings.” There is a great paradox in Christianity. When we embrace God’s rules and statutes, instead of becoming less free, we become freer. God desires that we order our life in a certain way. We must love Him first, with all our hearts. We must love our spouses and children. We must be devoted to advancing God’s Kingdom. We must regularly practice meaningful rest. Here’s the fun part: if we rightly order our lives by following these principles, we are free to work hard. We don’t have to fear that our work will define us. We don’t have to fear that our work will come before other more important aspects of our lives. If we’re obedient to God, we can devote ourselves to diligent, meaningful work, knowing that our lives are correctly ordered. There is great freedom in this.
This article originally appeared in the Good For You Newsletter, Vol: 2.
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