Christ Delights in Work Well Done

The useful part

Listen to Theology Refresh → Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. "What do you like about the kind of work you do?" I asked a fellow dad as we watched our sons during their basketball practice.

How it works

• It wasn't an unusual question for me to ask, as I'm naturally curious about people's careers and work environments.
• His answer, however, surprised me: "I've never thought about what I like about my work.
• I knew enough about him to know his approach to work was anything but ordinary.
• Just like my friend at the basketball court, even those of us who work at a desk can glorify God in every spreadsheet, meeting, project, and email.
• The calling to which Paul refers is discipleship in Christ, but this discipleship includes all of life, including ordinary work.

What to take from it

Over the years, after hundreds of interviews and conversations, I've observed three qualities of people who glorify God in their everyday vocation: resolve in the calling, grit because of joy, and dedication to others' flourishing. Grit Because of Joy A second quality of God-glorifying workers is grit. I was good at the skills required, and it's provided well for my family." At first glance, his answer seems typical, a reflection of his calling to provide for his family.

Example or evidence

• Since Eden, God has created us to have dominion over the earth and enjoy him forever (Genesis 1:28).
• For some today, it's full-time ministry in a local church, or church planting on the mission field, or discipleship on the college campus.
• The work itself — whether mundane, messy, or miraculous — matters less than our approach to and goal for it: that we resolve to do it well for God's glory.
• Such resolve does not consider work as a mere duty but embraces it with joy.

Details worth keeping

Christ Delights in Work Well Done | Desiring God Less fluff. Nehemiah told the returning exiles, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). That joy, not sheer willpower, lets a settled worker stay planted through a hard quarter or a thankless task.

Related coverage

• Byfaithonline: Finishing His Work Philippians 1:3–11 He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
• Truthforlife: Among the pitfalls of which Christians should be wary, surely one of the most prevalent in our day is the trap of a performance-driven life.
• Harvest: Believers can approach God boldly not because of what we've done, but because of what Christ did.
• Desiringgod: We tend to study what delights us.
• Desiringgod: I was wet concrete, drying quickly.