The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. [Genesis 2:15 (ESV)]
Today is Labor Day—the unofficial last day of summer. On a day originally intended to celebrate the accomplishments of workers, it’s somewhat ironic that most of us are doing as little work as possible. Nevertheless, whether it’s just making the bed, grilling the burgers, washing the car, or being called in for an emergency surgery, we’ll all do some work today. We appreciate the day off but we’d much prefer a full-blown vacation—with no chores, deadlines, schedules, or business calls, texts, and emails. On the ideal vacation, all we have to do is relax and enjoy ourselves.
Everyday life, however, requires work of some kind. Some days that work might be stimulating but, other days, it can downright boring. While our labor can be enjoyable, it also can be grueling or hectic. Most of our tasks aren’t what we’d describe as fun. Some are physically demanding, others are tedious, and some are just plain gross! The list of tasks seems never-ending and much of the what we did yesterday, we’ll do again today, and probably tomorrow, as well! Nevertheless, work is a gift from God and, quite likely, the gift we least value.
Surveys show that about 60% of our waking hours are spent working in some way or another. The American Time Use Survey estimates that, out of their 16.2 waking hours, the average employed person spends 8.8 hours working at their job, 1.8 hours on household activities, and 1.2 hours caring for others. No matter how much we love our family, doing the laundry, pulling weeds, grocery shopping, changing diapers, and helping the kids with homework is work. With so much of our life spent in labor, God wants us to enjoy our work and, thankfully, he’s given us the ability to do so.
God worked for six days creating the universe, Jesus accomplished the work God gave him [John 17:4], and the Holy Spirit is working in us right now. Because God is inherently good, anything He does is good, so we know work can’t be bad or evil. It’s simply a fact of life. God didn’t put Adam in the garden to sit in a lounge chair and drink margaritas. He gave him a garden to tend and watch over. Work was a gift not a curse but, because of our sin, God’s curse affected our work! It was only after the fall that work became toil, presented difficulties, and was prone to failure and unintended consequences. Work became more important in our lives simply because it took more labor to yield the desired results!
God wants us to enjoy all aspects of life, not just holidays like Labor Day or those two weeks in the sun while on vacation. Holidays and vacations are just the icing on the cake; He wants us to delight in the cake as well. When we work to the best of our ability with an uncomplaining (and appreciative) heart, work becomes a privilege and a way to honor our Heavenly Father.
Lord, we thank you for the gift of labor. Forgive any grumbling, shoddy workmanship, or lackluster effort on our part. Renew us with your Spirit. Fill us with enthusiasm, competence, and fortitude as we work so that the fruit of our labor brings honor to you and joy and self-respect to us.
Work is a blessing. God has so arranged the world that work is necessary, and He gives us hands and strength to do it. The enjoyment of leisure would be nothing if we had only leisure. It is the joy of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest, just as it is the experiences of hunger and thirst that make food and drink such pleasures. [Elisabeth Elliot]
We were discussing when and how we came to believe in the existence of God. Those who’d been brought up in families of faith said there never was a time they weren’t aware of God’s presence. Others spoke of believing in God because He is visible in His creation—in flowers, majestic mountains, birds, sunrises and sunsets, the vastness of space, or the miracle of birth. One came to believe in God while attending Vacation Bible School with a neighbor and another met God through a campus ministry. After apologizing in advance for “grossing” us out, one woman shared her experience while in medical school.
When writing about issumagijoujungnainermik, the Inuit word for forgiveness, I came across a word in the Tshiluba language spoken by the Bantu of the Congo: ilunga. Because isumagijoujungnainermik is made up of several Inuit words, it easily translates as “not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore.” Like issumagijoujungnainermik, ilunga has to do with forgiveness but, unlike the Inuit word, it resists an easy translation. In fact, back in 2004, 1,000 linguists gave it the questionable honor of being the world’s “most difficult” word to translate!
Heather Kaufman’s novel Up From Dust is historical fiction. Based on what Scripture tells us about Martha of Bethany, her sister Mary, and their brother Lazarus, it gives the reader a fictionalized version of their backstories. Kaufman’s extensive research for the novel allowed her to paint a vivid and accurate picture of 1st century life in Judea. Even though the story is a figment of her imagination, it reminded me that the people who spent time with the Lord while He walked on earth were real (and flawed) people like us—each with their own personal history. Ordinary people with parents, friends and, for some, spouses and children, they had jobs, responsibilities, secrets, regrets, and weaknesses. Like us, they were people who worried, disagreed, cried, laughed, loved, rejoiced, and mourned. The only thing that made them different from their neighbors was their love for a man called Jesus!
Devotions of the Heart 