For we are God’s fellow workers. (1 Corinthians 3:9, NIV)
Although more than a few of us dream of having a job so attractive as playing golf professionally, in truth it is work for these players. Hard work. Daily work. Committed work. In other words, their days sometimes feel much like yours and mine.
Where we might say tour professionals really have it nice is that their “office” is the green grass of a beautiful course somewhere. Of course, the greens staff has that same office—and without all the pressure.
Maybe we’ve been having the wrong dream all along!
When it comes to work and the purpose behind it, you have surely heard of the dreamers, doers, and drivers who have climbed the proverbial ladder only to find that it was leaning against the wrong wall. It’s no fun to win the rat race if that means you’re still a rat!
In the face of discouraging realizations like this, we do well to turn to Scripture. There, we are over and over again given perspectives on work that lift us up and bring us to a place of grand purpose.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote of the work that he and other gospel-givers were doing. It became quickly apparent that Paul thought highly of the work but not so highly of himself. This is a good perspective for followers of Christ, so let’s explore it a bit more.
At the outset of chapter 2, Paul wrote that he “did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.” So we have the basis of his message: the story of God. But we also see his humility. He went on to say, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
When we are gospel-givers, like Paul, we engage in transcendent work. It is greater than us. And the beauty here is that we can all do this work—telling the story of God. We can do it at home with our families, in over-the-hedge conversations with our neighbors, on the way in and out of the office with our co-workers, and certainly with those who share our cart on the golf course.
Why can we do this? Because it does not require grand words or lock-tight arguments. It simply requires, as Paul went on to write, that we plant the seeds and water the ground. It is God who makes things grow. And who better to trust than the Lord of creation when it comes to bringing wonders out of the dirt?
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Jeff Hopper
February 12, 2018
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.