Sermonette: Oct. 7, 2019

Genesis 2:15,18,19: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Our work, how we spend our days (whether we get paid for it or not) is our calling in life, and each and every person has one. In the garden of Eden, a land with the perfect amount of abundance for its inhabitants, even before humans became self-centered, God called us to work. God did not fill Eden with couches or hammocks, having humans rest all day, eating grapes and olives, but gave them land to till, animals to name, and a deep yearning for relationship with an equal.

Each of us have this work to do in this life.

Work. When we think about it, it’s where we spend most of our time, most of our lives. Forty hours (or more) per week. Eight hours each day. If we separate our work life from God, we are separating a huge portion of our lives from God.

Where you work, how you work, how you spend your days is from God. And God is there, in the midst of that work, all the time.

Sometimes our work feels like how Frederick Buechner described it: “the place where your deep gladness, and the world’s hunger meet.” This work actually feels like it’s ordained by God, like it is “meant to be.” But more often, work can feel just like that: work.

It’s easy to feel like we are flitting around in this life, even when are consciously trying to hear God’s voice. Sometimes it’s clear: YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT. Sometimes, it’s not clear. Sometimes it feels like we got stuck with a job we didn’t really want to do— in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Because God is in charge of your work, you can see all those little, seemingly insignificant parts of our jobs, sometimes boring, often times draining, and even repulsive— we can look at all those tasks as our calling from God.

Whatever work you’re doing is a gift from God. Your gardening, your bus driving, your parenting, your office work, your leadership, being with your grandkids, opening the door for someone at the grocery store, your interactions with other people, your friendships, your marriage— any work you do, is a gift.