Made for Stewardship Dr. Timothy J. Keller "Genesis 1:26-2:2; 2:7-9, 15
Work &
rest…
What is it
with the world and how much we work now.
No more 40 hour weekends.
Remember when we used to just eat, now we eat and read or eat and
work. There is no more rhythm of work
and rest. Something is going on. We must understand work and rest to live.
What we’re called to do: We’re called to work. Verse 2:2 God finished the work he had been
doing. Mythology stories of creation say
that work is bad. God says it is good. In old mythology gods did not do work. In the bible God does work, it is good. God got dirt under his fingernails. God plants gardens.
No matter
how high you are in society right now, your ancestors are still
groundskeepers. It doesn’t matter what
you do, work should be valued. All work. No matter what it is. All work has dignity. All work is a calling of God.
How are we called to work: Look in
at what you’re gifted to do. Look out at
what people need. Look up to God to the
one who has called you.
Look in: GEN 1:26 Let them rule. We are made in the
image of God, he creates we are to create.
Something out of nothing. Does
not have to be art. Make something
relatively new out of what you are given.
Look out:
If you have talents in math and you work hard and you become incredibly rich,
you are to give back your blessings. It
most certainly is a blessing because you were born here in America where you
can use you talents to bless others. You
could have been born on a mountain in Tibet where your inclination toward math
would mean nothing. God blessed you, you
didn’t do that by yourself, your talents worked out in your favor, be a
blessing.
Look
up: A love supreme by John
Coltrane. Non do minus (?)- I was put on
earth to do a certain things and I’ve done it.
He knew he was called by God and he fulfilled his calling.
God has
given me something to do, I need to do something to help those around me, God
will use these things to have me accomplish the mission he has given me. If you work like that you’ll be happy. Know your mission.
To do
God’s work you have to rest. He hallowed
the 7th day. He set it apart
for us. You don’t just need REM sleep
Psalm 3 says you also need spiritual rest, deep rest of the soul.
People who
do not believe in God have to construct their own meaning, so they work and
work and work and do things to call attention to their lives to give it meaning.
At the end
of creation God said it is finished so he could rest. Centuries later Jesus said it is on the cross
it is finished so that we could get rest.
Hebrews 4:9
You need
approval and significance in God’s eyes not through work. Rest in that.
We know we’re not worthless. Who
cares what the world thinks, care about what God thinks of you. It was finished in creation and finished in
redemption. Do not create your own
meaning, when you do that you only care about yourself. When John Coltrane realized God loved him the
music he made was about God and the people that enjoyed his music. Not about himself. There is so much rest in that, it takes away
the burden of having to create your own worth, or in being the best at everything.
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