As many of us older youths are graduating and stepping into the working world soon, we decided to come together to find out what the Bible has to say about work. Benjamin & Jazreel facilitated the first gathering. Here are some learning points we thought we’d share!
1a. God worked to create
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…
Genesis 2:1-3
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
1b. God works to sustain
Ps 145:14-16
14 The Lord sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
John 5:17
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
By looking at Genesis, we learnt that God was the first to do work and our existence (and by extension, our work) today stems from His finished work of Creation. And even until today, God is actively sustaining the universe and caring for us.
In other words, God is the Author of work and He is still working today!
2. God calls us to carry on His work
Man in Paradise
Genesis 2:8-15
8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food…10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden... Havilah, where there is gold…bdellium and the onyx stone…
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
We were amazed to discover that, when God had finished creating paradise for man, He did not see it good for man to simply fold his arms and relax all day. Instead, He had designed Adam’s world to be beautiful, but within that beauty, there lay material that would allow Adam to create other beautiful things. He placed Adam in paradise and called him to work. For us today, our work is anything God has called us to do. Work was part of God’s plan for mankind, in paradise, even before the Fall.
3. Is there joy in work?
But work is so tiring… Why does God want us to work?
Genesis 1:4-31
4 And God saw the light, that it was good…
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
Repeatedly in Genesis 1, we see the phrase “God saw that it was good”. But surely God sees all the time. Why then this phrase? The activity described here is not a visual seeing, but rather, taking a step back to enjoy and appreciate the goodness and beauty of what He had created. Here lies the answer. Our Maker Himself found joy in His work. Since we are made in His image, we also possess the capacity to enjoy work, and we shall taste of its joy as we trust that God created us to find satisfaction in it.
Still, work often feels to be anything but good, and so we will search the Scriptures for more answers in the subsequent sessions. For now, we have come away with these beginning insights- work is neither a construct of society, nor an evil burden placed on us, designed to rob us of joy.
On the other hand,
1. God Himself worked and is working today.
2. God created us to work.
3. God is satisfied with His work, and we can be too.
May we all share in the joy and satisfaction He had felt when He saw His work of creation and exclaimed that “it was very good”.
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