Made for Work Built For Love
| Made for Work Built for Love Reverend Don Boucher |
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Ge 2:5 There was not a man to till the ground.
The kingdom man has a purpose. The purpose is packed in two
words. They are not often linked. The words work and love. Prior
to the Lord placing Adam on the Earth, the Lord fills the earth with
beautiful living things. They give Him glory, but there is a missing
ingredient. It was the work of tilling the ground. Now this ground did
not need tilling because of weeds thorns, and thistles, these elements
of the living world did not come to be until the Fall of Man. God did
not give the role of tilling the ground to the animal kingdom. They
had the strength, even motivation. The animal kingdom can certainly
be creative. Birds build nests, beavers build dams, wolves hunt in
teams; other animals use teamwork to protect the weak. Therefore,
the work had to have a different purpose.That purpose was to reflect
the image of God in an act of worship called work.
Now, does God care so much about dirt that he gives responsibility to
tilling it to the only creature that he has made in his image? Of course
not! So why does he do it? The Lord was teaching Adam the
responsibility of managing a Kingdom. The method of his instruction
was work. Was work Adam's only responsibility? No, there is
another
and she is called Eve. We will talk of Love in a few moments.
The body of Christ has divorced itself from the sacredness of work in
many cases. We value the incognito missionary worker in closed
countries to the Gospel, but do not see the same value in our own
Kingdom workers in our free countries. The worker in a free country
is more important than the one that is working in countries that are
oppressive, not less so. The free worker has the responsibility to
influence the Kingdom in profound ways. Freedom is the fruit of a
country that follows Jesus and the precepts of the bible.
The Godliness of the free country and the prosperity that flows from
it ultimately tears down oppressive regimes. The USSR did not fall
because it lacked creative energy, or will, or resources. It fell because
it was built on a foundation of sand known as communism. It
devalued the family and the God of family related work.
The LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him an help meet for him. Gen 2:18. Where do Work and
Love meet? They meet in our first parents Adam and Eve. Eve was
given to Adam as a perfect helper for him. Not subordinate. They
were a joint dominion, they were co laboreres in the field. (The
Kingdom)
Ge.1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
Ge.1:28
And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living animal that moves upon the earth.
Now it is also very clear that God did not create Adam and Eve
exclusively for work. When Adam says, "this is bone of my bone and
flesh of my flesh" he is not thinking about work. He is thinking about
Love. "Be fruitful and multiple and replenish the Earth" is a
command that brings the truth of work and love together. God's first
created working unit was the family. In a family that properly mixes
the ingredients of Love and Work great reward is the outcome. They
are able to maintain faith in good times and bad because they are built
on a foundation that is solid, and fertile.
I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Our city had a very large
Portuguese, immigrant population. This population modeled a
balance of Love and Work. Men would come from Portugal and
work several years at low paying jobs saving money to bring over
their families. They would eventually buy homes that they cared for
in meticulous fashion, their children would grow get married, but
often live in the same home. They would then save to buy their own
homes. Many Portuguese have gone on to be professional working
class of our community because they understood that hard work,
family values, and sacrifice made for a safe, livable community. "I
desire that you would live quiet peaceable lives among all men" That's
what a Kingdom that follows Jesus looks like.
My five small children are outside playing hide and go seek as I am
writing. I am thankful that I can hear them. When I was a child I
could wander further and explore more because the neighborhood was
safer. It reflected the Kingdom of God in a deeper way. Family life
was in most cases "normal." I don't want to say that the good old
days were always good, for many they were awful. However, a
family structure, and church structure were present for building a safe
society. It is the structure of Love and Work that are the topic of this
article.
If the church and the families of our church are going to grow and
prosper we must promote an atmosphere within our churches that
leads to it creating the best workers and families in our communities.
If we are doing the job of evangelism will be attracting families in
which these values have often not been present. The source in which
Adam and Eve drew was the Word of God. The Portuguese families
that I have been talking about are strong Roman Catholics that
implemented principles based on the Bible.
Jos.1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall
meditate in it day and night, that thou may observe to do according to
all that is written therein: for then thou shall make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shall have good success.
Jos. 24:15
And if it seemeth evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day
whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD.
You see in these verses that Joshua is giving a challenge to a nation
and making a declaration about his family. We need to do likewise by
living lives that honor God in our family life and in our work life.
The kingdom man has a purpose. The purpose is packed in two
words. They are not often linked. The words work and love. Prior
to the Lord placing Adam on the Earth, the Lord fills the earth with
beautiful living things. They give Him glory, but there is a missing
ingredient. It was the work of tilling the ground. Now this ground did
not need tilling because of weeds thorns, and thistles, these elements
of the living world did not come to be until the Fall of Man. God did
not give the role of tilling the ground to the animal kingdom. They
had the strength, even motivation. The animal kingdom can certainly
be creative. Birds build nests, beavers build dams, wolves hunt in
teams; other animals use teamwork to protect the weak. Therefore,
the work had to have a different purpose.That purpose was to reflect
the image of God in an act of worship called work.
Now, does God care so much about dirt that he gives responsibility to
tilling it to the only creature that he has made in his image? Of course
not! So why does he do it? The Lord was teaching Adam the
responsibility of managing a Kingdom. The method of his instruction
was work. Was work Adam's only responsibility? No, there is
another
and she is called Eve. We will talk of Love in a few moments.
The body of Christ has divorced itself from the sacredness of work in
many cases. We value the incognito missionary worker in closed
countries to the Gospel, but do not see the same value in our own
Kingdom workers in our free countries. The worker in a free country
is more important than the one that is working in countries that are
oppressive, not less so. The free worker has the responsibility to
influence the Kingdom in profound ways. Freedom is the fruit of a
country that follows Jesus and the precepts of the bible.
The Godliness of the free country and the prosperity that flows from
it ultimately tears down oppressive regimes. The USSR did not fall
because it lacked creative energy, or will, or resources. It fell because
it was built on a foundation of sand known as communism. It
devalued the family and the God of family related work.
The LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him an help meet for him. Gen 2:18. Where do Work and
Love meet? They meet in our first parents Adam and Eve. Eve was
given to Adam as a perfect helper for him. Not subordinate. They
were a joint dominion, they were co laboreres in the field. (The
Kingdom)
Ge.1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
Ge.1:28
And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living animal that moves upon the earth.
Now it is also very clear that God did not create Adam and Eve
exclusively for work. When Adam says, "this is bone of my bone and
flesh of my flesh" he is not thinking about work. He is thinking about
Love. "Be fruitful and multiple and replenish the Earth" is a
command that brings the truth of work and love together. God's first
created working unit was the family. In a family that properly mixes
the ingredients of Love and Work great reward is the outcome. They
are able to maintain faith in good times and bad because they are built
on a foundation that is solid, and fertile.
I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Our city had a very large
Portuguese, immigrant population. This population modeled a
balance of Love and Work. Men would come from Portugal and
work several years at low paying jobs saving money to bring over
their families. They would eventually buy homes that they cared for
in meticulous fashion, their children would grow get married, but
often live in the same home. They would then save to buy their own
homes. Many Portuguese have gone on to be professional working
class of our community because they understood that hard work,
family values, and sacrifice made for a safe, livable community. "I
desire that you would live quiet peaceable lives among all men" That's
what a Kingdom that follows Jesus looks like.
My five small children are outside playing hide and go seek as I am
writing. I am thankful that I can hear them. When I was a child I
could wander further and explore more because the neighborhood was
safer. It reflected the Kingdom of God in a deeper way. Family life
was in most cases "normal." I don't want to say that the good old
days were always good, for many they were awful. However, a
family structure, and church structure were present for building a safe
society. It is the structure of Love and Work that are the topic of this
article.
If the church and the families of our church are going to grow and
prosper we must promote an atmosphere within our churches that
leads to it creating the best workers and families in our communities.
If we are doing the job of evangelism will be attracting families in
which these values have often not been present. The source in which
Adam and Eve drew was the Word of God. The Portuguese families
that I have been talking about are strong Roman Catholics that
implemented principles based on the Bible.
Jos.1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall
meditate in it day and night, that thou may observe to do according to
all that is written therein: for then thou shall make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shall have good success.
Jos. 24:15
And if it seemeth evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day
whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD.
You see in these verses that Joshua is giving a challenge to a nation
and making a declaration about his family. We need to do likewise by
living lives that honor God in our family life and in our work life.
© Copyright Gates of Praise Ministries 2006