Articles
Are We Working?
I love being able to look out my office windows and see the world. It often provides an escape as well as interesting scenery. Some mornings I am here early enough to watch the sunrise. It’s beautiful. There are also times I can watch Canadian Geese roaming the lawn looking for food. Sometimes I can even hear the geese honking. This week there has been a different kind of scenery. The phone company is installing a new switch box on our property. One day they dug a footing and then later they poured a concrete foundation. Now they are pulling some cable into the appropriate places to start putting all of the wiring together before they actually bring a switch box in. It’s interesting that many times I lookup and one man is working while two or three are standing around watching him or perhaps talking. At the moment, one man in an orange vest is raking out some dirt they have dugout while another in a yellow vest is squatting next to the pile. The yellow vested man is doing nothing. He’s just watching. We’ve all seen similar scenes whether it was the phone company, a road construction crew, or some other group of workers. We’ve all laughed about one guy working while the others are just watching. Watching one man work while others spectate caused me to think: I wonder what God sees when He looks at our spiritual family.
Does He see a select few working while a majority watches their work? Does He see a small percentage doing the labor while the rest lean on their shovels nearby? I like 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Our labor is not in vain. It’s not useless. It’s not without value. There is no question about how valuable our labor is. The real question is, “Are we laboring?” How many of us have worked for God today? Have we discussed spiritual things with a friend or co-worker? Have we tried to set up a study with someone we know is lost? Have we sent a kind note of encouragement or called someone who needed a little “pick-me-up”? Have we prayed for those who need help? We need to realize there are so many things we can doing for the Lord. And the reality is that often we know what needs to be done, we just don’t do it. We need to take every possible opportunity to be working for Him. Please understand that in the case of working for God, if you don’t do your work it won’t get done. No one can do it for you. Only you can fulfill the obligations that you have to the Creator. When it comes to the work God wants you to do, what have you done today? He is watching. Let’s make sure we are out working for the Lord.
~Terry Francis
