{"id":11923,"date":"2012-07-16T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=11923"},"modified":"2012-07-03T15:32:14","modified_gmt":"2012-07-03T19:32:14","slug":"are-you-doing-gods-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Doing God’s Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Nils<\/p>\n

This is a guest post by Nils von Kalm. He resides in Melbourne, Australia, and has a passion for showing how the Gospel is relevant to everyday life. Married to Nell, he writes about theology for a living and is an avid reader. His thoughts on life can be found on his website called Soul Thoughts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, check out the guidelines here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"GodUntil recently, I always had a nagging suspicion that the more explicitly “Christian” one’s work is, such as being a pastor or working for a Christian organization, the more pleasing to God it would be.<\/p>\n

I had always told myself that you don’t have to be doing specifically “Christian” work to be doing the work of God, but deep down I had my doubts.<\/p>\n

After listening to a few people from the Theology of Work<\/a> project talk about this, I am now convinced that our work does not have to be specifically what we call “Christian” to be godly.<\/p>\n

For me it is a matter of theology. It goes to the heart of what we really think the kingdom of God is all about. After all, Jesus spoke about the kingdom more than anything else in the gospels, so it obviously has huge importance.<\/p>\n

What is the Kingdom?<\/h2>\n

Is the kingdom of God about getting people saved and doing a bit to help the poor along the way? Or is all of life, all our creativity, and all our God-given ability, something that can please God and be useful for the kingdom?<\/p>\n

I am convinced it is the latter.<\/p>\n

We all have gifts and abilities that have been bestowed upon us by God. This means it is actually our responsibility to use them for the furtherance of the kingdom. All of life is made by God and is loved by God.\u00a0As Rikk Watts has said, God gets excited by timber!<\/p>\n

Any Work is God’s Work<\/h2>\n

Some time ago I went to the doctor, one I had only seen once or twice previously. As we got talking, he asked what I did for a living, so I told him I work for a Christian organization. Being a believer himself, he said he admired someone who did God’s work.<\/p>\n

But wasn’t his work just as much God’s work as is mine? As a doctor he helps people physically recover from all sorts of ailments. He is faithfully engaging in the work of the kingdom.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Inauguration\u00a0of the Kingdom<\/h2>\n

In Jesus the kingdom of God has broken into history. His acts of kindness, humility, love, and compassion were all signs and pointers to the kingdom of God – the reign of God.<\/p>\n

Through his death and resurrection we have the promise of a future world – right here on this earth.<\/p>\n

And our task is to work for this kingdom in the here and now. So any work that is kingdom-oriented, that is, any work of love, justice, kindness, or creativity, is of benefit, is of significance, and is of God.\u00a0Public service, when used properly, is of God; music, when used properly, is of God; art, when used properly, is of God.<\/p>\n

Using your Gifts in the Kingdom<\/h2>\n

\"WorkingGod is the ultimate creative One, and as people made in the image of God, we are to be likewise creative. So, if making music makes you come alive, do it for the glory of God. If teaching math makes you come alive, do it for the glory of God. Generally, our gifts are those things which make us come alive.<\/p>\n

For me it is writing. I love it. I love expressing myself this way. I love trying to teach people about what I believe are the ways of the God I believe in and who I am convinced has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

With every gift though there is the opportunity for abuse. When I write, I am constantly tempted by the thought of what people will think of it, by egotistical thoughts of thousands of people reading it and telling me and others how good I am.<\/p>\n

If this is our motive for using our gift, it is no longer a gift; it is an idol. And idols destroy.<\/p>\n

We must constantly examine our motivations when we exercise our gifts. As we are people who have a tendency to be self-centered, we need others to keep us sane.<\/p>\n

So find out what makes you come alive, if you haven’t already. And then, don’t wait for a lightning bolt from God. Go and pursue it with all your energy.<\/p>\n

Above all, pray. Pray for humility, for integrity, and that your gift will be used not for your glory, but for the glory of God and for the furtherance of his wonderful kingdom here on earth.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian. Any work that is kingdom-oriented, that is, any work of love, justice, kindness, or creativity, is of benefit, is of significance, and is of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1336],"class_list":{"0":"post-11923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-guest-post","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nAre You Doing God's Work?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Doing God's Work?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Redeeming God\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/290798794274804\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/290798794274804\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-16T17:00:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-07-03T19:32:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeremy Myers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@redeeminggod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@redeeminggod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeremy Myers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeremy Myers\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c\"},\"headline\":\"Are You Doing God’s Work?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-16T17:00:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-07-03T19:32:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\"},\"wordCount\":825,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"guest post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\",\"name\":\"Are You Doing God's Work?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-16T17:00:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-07-03T19:32:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg\",\"width\":\"1600\",\"height\":\"900\",\"caption\":\"God at Work\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are You Doing God’s Work?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/\",\"name\":\"Redeeming God\",\"description\":\"Liberating you from bad ideas about God\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c\",\"name\":\"Jeremy Myers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eddb31e43c2836234b746787cbef8f12?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eddb31e43c2836234b746787cbef8f12?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeremy Myers\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"Jeremy Myers writes about Scripture and theology in a way that redeems God and people from the prison of religion. He is a popular author and blogger and often gives away free eBooks to his blog subscribers.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/290798794274804\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/redeeminggod\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are You Doing God's Work?","description":"is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are You Doing God's Work?","og_description":"is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian.","og_url":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/","og_site_name":"Redeeming God","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/290798794274804","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/290798794274804","article_published_time":"2012-07-16T17:00:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-07-03T19:32:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeremy Myers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@redeeminggod","twitter_site":"@redeeminggod","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeremy Myers","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/"},"author":{"name":"Jeremy Myers","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c"},"headline":"Are You Doing God’s Work?","datePublished":"2012-07-16T17:00:36+00:00","dateModified":"2012-07-03T19:32:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/"},"wordCount":825,"commentCount":4,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg","keywords":["guest post"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/","url":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/","name":"Are You Doing God's Work?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg","datePublished":"2012-07-16T17:00:36+00:00","dateModified":"2012-07-03T19:32:14+00:00","description":"is there such a thing as Christian work, or is all work Christian? When Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, all work is Christian.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/God_At_Work.jpg","width":"1600","height":"900","caption":"God at Work"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/are-you-doing-gods-work\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are You Doing God’s Work?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/","name":"Redeeming God","description":"Liberating you from bad ideas about God","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0df0211c3f7ba3d4c6cfa1f8411f481c","name":"Jeremy Myers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eddb31e43c2836234b746787cbef8f12?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eddb31e43c2836234b746787cbef8f12?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeremy Myers"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Jeremy Myers writes about Scripture and theology in a way that redeems God and people from the prison of religion. He is a popular author and blogger and often gives away free eBooks to his blog subscribers.","sameAs":["https:\/\/redeeminggod.com","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/290798794274804","https:\/\/x.com\/redeeminggod"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11923"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}