So, did you "labor" on Labor Day??  Many folks enjoyed "the day off."  We appreciate a rest from the labors of the week in which we engage to "pay the bills."  Have you ever stopped to think:  just what is your job??  You know what your "vocation" is; most have many "avocations" they enjoy as well.  But, as a Christian, what is "your job?" 

 

Scripture has a variety of responses to this question.  In the gospel of John, Jesus says that doing the work of God is to believe in Him.  In Luke we are told to "love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourselves."  Matthew has many, many chapters on what our "jobs" are as Christian people, how we are to live as Christians. From clear back in the Old Testament book of Micah, we are fond of quoting:  "what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." 

 

And looking to New Testament epistles of Paul and others we read admonitions to: feed our enemies, seek the advantage of others, be ambassadors for Christ, bear one another's burdens, look to the interests of others, fight the good fight of faith, love one another in truth and in action, etc...etc...There are hundreds, if not thousands, of passages that tell us "what our jobs are as Christians."

 

Some passages talk about us and our personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Many discuss how we "live out" our righteousness from God in our relations with other people, whether they be brothers and sisters in Christ, or someone who has not yet heard and experienced the good news. 

 

It seems that whether personal or community oriented, all the passages get to "who we are" as opposed to just "what we do."  We are first and above all children of God, who have been chosen, named, claimed, forgiven and given new life through Jesus the Christ.  All that we are, all that we say and do, is to be done with this in mind.  When we realize the incredible nature of His gift to us, we are compelled to live our lives in grateful response to what He has done for us.  We cannot help ourselves; our lives will overflow in prayer, praise, worship and service. 

 

So, as you rest from your "labors," remember who and whose you are that and as the reality of that good news fills you, be all that you can be! 

 

Peace,