Heigh Ho Its off to Work We Go

Dig dig dig.

Work is something we all have to do. We work for food, fun, family, and living expenses. We work out of necessity in almost every part of life.

But there are areas that we don't have to work in. We shouldn't have to work for love out of necessity, because then it becomes a service and not a gift.

We shouldn't have to work for free out of necessity but should be paid for our work.

But another area we shouldn't work in out of necessity is our spiritual walks.

As Christians we shouldn't have to work for our salvations first of all.

When we try to work for our salvation it is the same as trying to pay someone back for the gift they gave you.

Example - You buy me an 150$ watch for my birthday. I then thank you for it and then proceed
to work and I earn the 150$ and pay you back for the watch. I mean if I were you I would think, "No that watch was a gift you don't need to pay me back for it". It could almost be insulting as I would be saying I will not accept a free gift from you.

But so often we have the audacity to think that we can pay God back for eternal life. I mean a priceless gift cannot be payed for. God gave us salvation we cannot pay Him back with our works. They just do not have the same value.

In Japanese (I think), English, Hebrew, and Greek the word work can mean, labor, an occupation, or business. Don't try to do business with God you have no work that He will accept as a payment.

So that brings me to my second point. We work too hard in an effort to please God and others.

We often in an attempt to live right lives and to do things right make our works priority.

For example we know God wants us to be holy, so we go and we try to do everything we can to make ourselves holier. We try to love our brethren more, we try to do what those above us tell us, and all these things.

But didn't God say that He started that work in you? (Phillipians 1:6) He is also going to finish that work. Why are you trying to finish that work for Him?

Don't try to take God's job of making you holier. God has a design and a mold for you. You are to be a lump of clay in a potters hands. He is going to shape you. If you take your own works and try to shape yourself you will not become that image of Christ.

Let God do works through you. Don't try working yourself. Ask God to use you and follow God. He will then make these changes in you. You don't need to work for these things yourself.

We all need to take a Sabbath from works. I am not suggesting now that we do no works for God. I want to challenge everyone with this. God is our rest He is our Sabbath. I want to challenge you to rest your works on Him. I am challenging you to follow Him into the works He leads you to. Don't strive to make your own works, but let God do a work through you instead.