Monday, September 5, 2005
Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
THE BLESSING OF WORK
Labor is not something to be avoided -- it is a gift of God. Work is not something we do to get it over with because we have to; work is something we get to do, an activity God has given us that our lives might be full and happy. If you doubt this go to a nursing home or a hospital, talk to someone no longer able to do the work he once did. He or she will tell you.
Better yet, let's turn to the Word of our Maker, the Word of God in Genesis 2:15. Here we see how God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a perfect earthly home in order that they might "dress it and keep it", ie. "to work the soil and look after it."
Sin has caused labor to be less than pure blessing. But even when work is a heavy burden -- that is not the whole story. It is also a valuable blessing.
God originally created human beings to be free of worry and trouble but not to be free of responsibility. Work was an important part of God's plan for the crown jewel of His creation. After all, the Creator made them -- male and female -- in His own likeness, made them to work even as He had.
So, work is not primarily a thing one does to live, but something one lives to do. It is an expression of the abilities and gifts God has given us, an activity in which we, like Adam, are to find spiritual, mental and physical satisfaction. There is joy and glory in following in the footsteps of our Creator.
Even better, through work we who have been redeemed by the work of the very Son of God, can offer ourselves in thanksgiving to God.
