WORK AND WORSHIP BECOMING ONE

The humblest and the most unseen activity in the world can be the true worship of God.  Work and worship literally become one.  Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever; and we carry out that function when we do what God sent us into the world to do.  Work well done rises like a hymn of praise to God.  This means that the doctor on her rounds, the scientist in his laboratory, the teacher in her classroom, the musician at his music, the artist at her canvas, the retail associate at his counter, the typist at her computer, the mechanic in his shop, the stay-at-home mom or dad in the kitchen -- all who are doing the work of the world as it should be done are joining in a great act of worship.

-- adapted from William Barclay in The Revelation of John, vol. 1


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THE AUDIENCE OF ONE

The One, of course, is God. And His demand of you is your absolute best, your utmost integrity. He calls you to apply His commands in all your decisions and interactions.

In a perfect world, this kind of excellence would always be recognized and amply compensated. It would earn you the highest respect from your colleagues and coworkers. It would anchor your job security and even promise you steady promotion through the ranks. But even when it doesn't -- even when it seems like no one is noticing -- there is no satisfaction like knowing that God can say of you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

The next time you start to feel unappreciated, undervalued, and overlooked, take your feelings of inferiority to the Lord in prayer. Let Him be the One with the last word on how valuable you are. When you're pleasing Him, you're doing your job.

-- Joe Gibbs, from his blog GamePlanForLife.com


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A SENSE OF CALLING

Lutheran professor and author Martin Marty described his professional life this way: "I go to work because I have a job that’s part of a career, which is part of a profession that I do because of my vocation that is the shape of my life."  Marty had grasped the big picture, his calling, which put everything else in place.  Somehow the daily tasks required -- in his case, grading papers, lectures, committee meeting, writing, and research -- fit together as rungs of a ladder leading all the way up to vocation, a word taken from the Latin for "calling."  Marty went on to say that a sense of calling may be the most important step for any who seek fulfillment and meaning.

Marty was following the pattern of Martin Luther himself, who saw a potential calling in any kind of work.  "Even dirty and unpleasant work, such as shoveling manure or washing diapers, is pure and holy work if it comes from a pure heart," he said.  Luther urged ordinary folk -- farmers, milkmaids, butchers, and cobblers -- to perform their work as if God Himself was watching.

-- Philip Yancey in Rumors of Another World


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