A MAMMOTH subject opened up before me on glancing over the lesson as i prepared to select a few passages for thought to highlight for the bulletin! As usual the weekly chats with my sister Susie and my son Curt on this topic opened up to many excerpts from various authors and their authority on the subject of WORK and the CHRISTIAN
the lessonI say it that way because in the beginning it was God who created work, (no reference found not remembering where i got it from) but it is relative.......
Today work, particularly physical work, is considered as one of toil, weariness, and hardship. In fact in many countries, the type of work defines the social status of the individual. But this was not the case in the beginning when God created this world. God Himself sanctified work by creating the universe. Even before human worked, God worked. When God created Adam and Eve, He commanded them to work, to till the soil, to live by the fruits of their labor (Genesis 2:15). Thus physical work is not a result of sin; it is God's creative gift to Adam and Eve. Even as God created and worked the various components of the universe, He commanded His created beings to become partners with Him-to share the gift of work, the gift of creating within their human limitations.
The setting for life or physical work is not always brought to our attention in relation to Christ, we are just expected to work or we dont eat, and in some cases we dont eat but still have a desire to reach out to a Christ that will hear us. As children at home we heard our father say that we were to be careful and make sure the corners were swept well because Jesus cares about how they are done. Here is a verse that sets the tone for our ethics, that Christ is the origin of our being in thought and labour......
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are"
(1 Cor. 3:16, 17
WORK is a culmination of many things, of which the very beginning is summed up in these words:
INVITE SERVE SURRENDER GLORIFY
Joseph - inviting God in himself early in his upbringing with his father, who spoiled him immensely, he gave his heart to God as he listened to the many stories of deliverance his father related to him, and when he was in momentous situations he was able to take a stand for Him. He was intelligent, creative, labouring to the fullest that God gave him wisdom for. His one thought was......
How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Genesis 39:9
Joseph and his father Patriarchs and Phrophets
Nicodemus - who came to Jesus by night, had all the advantages of life and who also was an example of Christianity but still he could not acknowledge his abilities and faith came from Christ as his Saviour. He needed to understand where his destiny lay and not turn away. Who did he serve? Verse 14 says "....even so must the Son of man be lifted up": John 3
Paul - his whole life was of surrender in education and a work of progress
His life, His work, His education
At the gate of Damascus the vision of the Crucified One changed the whole current of his life. The persecutor became a disciple, the teacher a learner. The days of darkness spent in solitude at Damascus were as years in his experience. The Old Testament Scriptures stored in his memory were his study, and Christ his teacher. To him also nature's solitudes became a school. To the desert of Arabia he went, there to study the Scriptures and to learn of God. He emptied his soul of prejudices and traditions that had shaped his life, and received instruction from the Source of truth. ED 65:3 EG White
David - vulnerability to acknowledge in humility his faults, not only in his faults, but in his daily living by loyalty to his king, his friends, even in war he looked after his family, in Psalms and communing with God about all things. His praises were for God. When the Ark was brought back to the city of Jerusalem, David danced in the street and gave out raisin cakes to the crowd in praise to God. He made a great noise!!!! Glorifying God
People of our time explain their work ethic this way:
EG White—Steps to Christ , chapter 9. the work and the life
The spirit of unselfish labor for others gives depth, stability, and Christlike loveliness to the character, and brings peace and happiness to its possessor.
Ralph Waldo Emerson “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
Will Smith—to go the extra mile His life in the foundation in bringing up his own family, foundations and lifes education at home, teaching and mentoring and being vulnerable with himself and others, He does not mention God but only once, but his ethics agree with our summation of work, the building is YOU or me. this is a youtube video
everywhere is school, getting good grades is not above cleaning the kitchen, work is education, discipline is to natural reaction to actions,
NOW!!! we go back to the beginning for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the foundation of our existence, He is merciful and gives us our benefits, whatever we have in poverty or much there is richness, we present Him with our days and nights and therefore we will get that blessing and we can look up to Him and give Him thanks! Confidence and feeling like a worm is also an issue on how we relate to these situations, Paul felt like a flea, Luther beat himself up, which we do sometimes also, trying to get Gods attention. Gods disciples were made up of many different kinds of people, confident or feeling insignificant, but they both can work with each other, building the bricks together, making the wall together. People will recognize this in you because that is what they are searching for whether you are at home or at work. Life is a circle, going back to the beginning always!
Labor - The Biblical Philosophy of Work : another web page to look up the conclusion PRAISE GOD
the article mentions going to church on Sunday but as Adventists we know that Saturday is the day for observing the day God has meant it to be.
