Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Colossians 3:23
Seeing Christ in You
I can see my daughter so easily in my wife. They are so much alike and both so precious to me. I see the little things that my daughter does that her mother did before she was born. We become like those around us, and for the believer, we want to be more like Christ so more will see Christ in us. We might be the only Bible anyone ever opens. We are told, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test” (2 Cor. 13:5)!
Working for God
A place of work is a holy, vocational calling. It might not feel like it, but the Bible shows we really are working for the Lord, just as Paul wrote to the church as Colossae, “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23). Even your employer works for someone, and that Someone is God. Where man rules, God overrules. What man turns, God overturns. Where man governs, God reigns.
Rendering Unto Others
If you had a friend you were helping with a project, you wouldn’t likely be a no-show, and I doubt very seriously you’d goof off when you were supposed to be helping him or her. Solomon’s sage advice is not just for helping your friends but anything you put your hand to, as he wrote, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Eccl. 9:10).
Rewards
We are not doing good works to be saved or for rewards but because it’s the right thing to do. We’re commanded to do them from Paul’s perspective: “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24). We cannot lose heart if no one’s noticing because “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Heb. 6:10). Perhaps the first words you hear will be “well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matt. 25:23).
Conclusion
Just as you should be “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man” (Eph. 6:7), so too should your work ethic be done “for the Lord and not for men,” with intentions of good will. Whatever we do, we should give it all we’ve got because our real employer is in heaven and watches to see whether we will work to please Him or work in such a way that pleases ourselves.
