Have you ever been to a job fair? When you walk in the door, a variety of businesses and business owners are set up all around the room. The purpose of the job fair is to help the youth of today become interested in different jobs and careers for the future. As you walk from booth to booth, you can see that there are so many different career paths a person may choose. One path may lead them immediately into the workforce, another may require trade school, and other paths may send them off to college or the military. No matter the career path that is chosen, there is a common element: work. Work is an important and necessary part of a person’s life. It is beneficial for individuals, families, and society as a whole. Work provides income that is necessary to take care of oneself and one’s family, and it provides services that are needed for a society to grow and flourish. Work is important.
From the beginning of time, God intended for mankind to work. In Genesis 2:15, God placed Adam in the garden to tend it and keep it. Adam was given the job of taking care of the garden, and he was also given the task of naming the animals of the earth. When Adam and Eve were being punished for their sins, Adam was told that because of his sins he would have to work hard for the food that he would eat. Throughout all of scripture, mankind has been working. David was a shepherd. Peter was a fisherman. Lydia was a seller of purple. Paul was a tentmaker. Work has always been a part of God’s plan for mankind. God not only expects mankind to work, but there is a standard He has set for that work. In Colossians 3:23, we see that we are to work hard, and the work that we do is to be done as to the Lord. God truly wants us to be a working people in this world, but He has called us to a greater work than the world can ever offer.
When we believe in God, confess Christ, repent of our sins, and are baptized for the remission of our sins, Christ adds us to His Church (Acts 2:47). Being added to the Church is being added to the greatest family that will ever exist, the Family of God. As part of the Family, we are part of that one Body as is described in Ephesians 4:4. The one Body of Christ has many members, and every member of the Body is important (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). As the Body of Christ we are called to be his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), but what are we supposed to be doing?
In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” We are to go into the lost and dying world and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to be like those we see in Acts 2:42 that had been added to the Lord’s Church as they were continuing, “steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” We are to be working in the Church to encourage and strengthen our brethren, and we are to be seeking opportunities to bring the lost to Christ.
Several years ago at the congregation I attend in Mississippi, we had our own version of a job fair. It was a ministry fair. All of the deacons and ministers set up booths all around our fellowship hall and encouraged all of the members to be involved in the work of the Church. There were several different types of service opportunities that were presented that day and so many more have been presented since then. In fact, I know there will always be new ways in which we can serve God. God has blessed each of us with talents and abilities, and as members of the one true Church, we can all use those talents to glorify God. As we live our lives for Him and spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all, let us all remember our call to be a hard-working people. Let God be glorified (1 Peter 4:11).
Awesome article, nice way to to focus our talents … 😉