The Word Before Work

What kind of work is “not in vain”?


Listen Later

Sign-up for my free 20-day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com

--

Series: Beyond the Great Commission

Devotional: 5 of 5

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

I’ve said this multiple times throughout this series, but allow me to say it once more: The Great Commission to “make disciples” is indeed great! But it’s far from the only thing Christ has called us to do. And there are serious problems with treating it as such. We’ve seen three of those problems thus far in this series:

  1. Jesus never did
  2. It neglects the other aspects of God’s kingdom
  3. Ironically, it makes us less effective at the Great Commission

Here’s the fourth problem with treating the Great Commission as the only commission: It blocks you and me from seeing how our work matters for eternity—how, in the words of the Apostle Paul, our “labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

If the Great Commission is the only commission, then our work has value only when leveraged to the instrumental end of evangelism. And if our work has only instrumental value, then most of us are wasting most of our time. 

That’s terribly disheartening because God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). To quote the inimitable Alexander Hamilton, we all “wanna build something that’s gonna outlive” us. We want this life to count for the next one. But if we can’t see how that’s possible, we lose purpose, hope, and a deep sense of connection with God as we go about our days. 

Leo Tolstoy, the writer of classics such as War and Peace, once said that it was this idea that “brought me to the point of suicide when I was fifty years old…It is the question without which life is impossible…It is this: what will come of what I do today or tomorrow?...Or expressed another way: is there any meaning in my life that will not be annihilated by the inevitability of death which awaits me?”

That is the question, isn’t it? What is the purpose of building a business, working a register, or planning an event if those actions don’t lead to an opportunity to share the gospel? Sure, they are means of loving our neighbors as ourselves in the present (see Matthew 22:39). But beyond the here and now, how do those actions matter for eternity?

So long as we see the Great Commission as our only commission, it will be impossible to answer that question. Which is why I wrote The Sacredness of Secular Work, to help you see how 100% of your time at work can matter for eternity and not just the 1% of time you spend “sharing the gospel.” The book releases January 30 but you can pre-order it today on Amazon or one of these other retailers!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Word Before WorkBy Jordan Raynor

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

214 ratings


More shows like The Word Before Work

View all
FamilyLife Today® by FamilyLife Podcast Network

FamilyLife Today®

1,688 Listeners

Focus on Marriage Podcast by Focus on the Family

Focus on Marriage Podcast

1,842 Listeners

Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast by Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

2,261 Listeners

Focus on the Family with Jim Daly by Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family with Jim Daly

4,762 Listeners

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life by Tim Keller

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

15,629 Listeners

Discover the Word Podcast by Our Daily Bread Ministries

Discover the Word Podcast

408 Listeners

Susie Larson Live by Susie Larson - Faith Radio

Susie Larson Live

828 Listeners

Revelation Wellness - Healthy & Whole by Alisa Keeton

Revelation Wellness - Healthy & Whole

1,610 Listeners

The Christian Habits Podcast by Barb Raveling

The Christian Habits Podcast

225 Listeners

The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast by Art of Leadership Network

The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast

2,229 Listeners

Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast by Life.Church

Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

10,652 Listeners

Focus on This by Full Focus

Focus on This

609 Listeners

Mere Christians by Jordan Raynor

Mere Christians

1,006 Listeners

The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni by Patrick Lencioni

The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni

350 Listeners

John Mark Comer Teachings by Practicing the Way

John Mark Comer Teachings

1,676 Listeners