Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from “The Adult Sabbath School Guide” is titled “The Christian and Work”. Like so many of our quarterly’s topics in this quarter’s “Bible Study Guide”, the focus is on what we do, not some philosophical idea or some intellectual correctness. And so with this week’s lesson, too. Work. As it says in Monday’s lesson, “Work is more than an economic necessity. Man is more than just an employee. Rightly understood, one’s lifework is an avenue of ministry, an expression of one’s relationship to the Lord”. Amen. I had a pathologist friend who once told me that many people of faith believe that the ultimate spiritual calling is to be a minister, a pastor. And yet, pastors minister to the “flock”. Those who already profess a faith in God. My friend maintained that the Christians in the workforce are the true evangelists. That they are doing a larger work for the Lord among the unconverted. And that how we do our work says volumes about the God we serve. How we do that work says more than any words we say. So true. And the lesson this week projects this idea.
Are you thorough with your work? Do you pay attention to the details? Do you “slough-off” at work, just doing the minimum… finding ways to avoid the hard tasks? How we approach and perform our work says so much about us… and the God we serve. As with our entire lesson this quarter, it’s all about the “how” not the “what”. “How” we work not that we work; “How” we keep the Sabbath, not that we keep the Sabbath; “How” we worship, not that we worship. So once again, our lesson is on the practical, not on the theoretical. As EGW so wisely states, “When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, purifies the soul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we may know that it is the truth of God. When benevolence, kindness, tenderheartedness, sympathy, are manifest in our lives; when the joy of right doing is in our hearts; when we exalt Christ, and not self, we may know that our faith is of the right order. ‘Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.’" 1 John 2:3 (Mount of Blessing pg. 146).
I love this quote (above)! “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments”. And to keep His commandments is to love. If we love, then WE know that we know Him. “Love” is an action word. “Love” is not mere sentiment. “Love” is how we live. And so with work, too. The way we do our work, whatever it is, is how we “love”. Do we love those who receive the benefit of our work? Do we do our work as to the Lord? If so, work and all that we do, will be flavored with “Love”. As John says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14)). Another way of saying that we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments (love). Love as the principle of action in all that you do is the determiner.
So if you have not that love that is the determiner, what to do? You know if you have that love. I know if I have that love. And if we do not, then we “abide in death”. Yikes! What to do?? But we know what to do with sin, don’t we, for love-less-ness is really sin. What do we do with sin? We confess it. We run to God and tell Him the truth, which is what confession is. Admitting the truth. We tell God the whole sordid mess that is us. We tell Him of our love-less-ness. We tell Him of our self-focus. We tell Him it all. And when we do, something miraculous happens. The love from our Father, our Father who forgives so freely and hears our cries so intimately, begins to seep into our hearts. We long to love others as He has just loved us. We long to give to others the love we have so wonderfully received. And so begins the healing. So begins the loving. A love, that as we exercise it (yes, act on it… obey Him), becomes magnified in us. Becomes a mighty wave inside of us that engulfs all other considerations. A love for others whereby we would sacrifice even our own place in heaven for even one of our brothers and sisters. The true love that God has always wanted for us. The true love that is our birthright. A true love that is our true image… the image of God Himself.
So my friends, look deep into your own heart. The Holy Spirit will guide you in this. And as you look, let the Holy Spirit show you the truth about yourself. And the Holy Spirit will also show you the truth about your Heavenly Father, too. That He does not condemn you. He does not criticize you. He forgives you and loves you. Most wonderful!
With brotherly love, Jim