Free to Work

For in [Christ] all things were created…all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together…For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:16-17, 19-20)

Again, I want to address the question, "Why produce a weekly podcast on the subject of work?" Work must be understood here as more than what we do to earn a paycheck. It includes that, of course, but also other regular things we do to live in this world. Things like the laundry, the dishes, mowing the grass or shoveling snow. It includes driving our children or grandchildren to school or dance lessons. Often, we preachers make it sound like these are irrelevant to the mission of God in the world. That is wrong.

Dorothy Sayers once advised preachers,

When you find a [person] who is a Christian praising God by the excellence of their work—do not distract them and take them away from their proper vocation to address religious meetings... Let them serve God in the way to which God has called them... [Do] not take them away from it, so that they may do ecclesiastical work for you. But, if you have any power, see that [they] are set free to do their own work as well as it may be done. They are not there to serve you; they are there to serve God by serving their work (Creed or Chaos?).

In these weekly podcasts addressing work, I hope to "set you free to do your work as well as it may be done…to serve God by serving your work". I hope you come to understand more deeply that the mission of God includes your whole life.

This mission includes the Great commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20) and the Great Commandment to love God and neighbour (Matthew 22:36-40). But it also includes the Cultural Mandate to explore, name, develop and cultivate the creation (Genesis 1:28). Neither the arrival of sin, nor the arrival of Jesus to redeem creation nullified that mandate. The Great Commission and the Great Commandment do not lessen the value of our work.

What better way to participate in this mandate then to do our everyday, mundane, ordinary work well, offering it to God for his glory and for the good of humanity? When you are at work you are in a context where pastors and missionaries rarely if ever show up. It is in that place that God has called you to cultivate creation, love your neighbour and bear witness to the goodness of the gospel.

The mission of God includes the renewal, restoration, and reformation of all things. All Christian, in all industries, are invited to participate in this comprehensive mission. Our workplaces are the critical spaces where we will either learn to follow Christ faithfully or walk away from him. Our workspaces are integral to the mission of God, no sideshow. There, you are at the leading edge of God's reconciling work.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Wherever God takes you today, may He fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that you may live carefully—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.