jump to navigation

Our Job

March 1, 2011

Write your comment | Print This Post

Dear Friends,

From God’s perspective, what is our job here on earth?

I’ve thought about this a quite a bit. It is an odd question but one that we should consider. How we answer this question will determine, to a large extent, how we act and think. If we think our primary job is to be a Bible student, this will reflect in how we act. If we think our primary responsibility is to preach, this will also be reflected in our behavior. If we answer this question correctly, we can have a framework for a balanced, powerful discipleship. If we answer this question incorrectly, we can become some freakish homunculus version of a disciple with both overdeveloped and unformed attributes of discipleship.

There are a lot of reasonable answers to this question. For example, we might say that our job is to glorify God. This is no doubt a true statement. The problem with this statement, at least for me, is that it is so open to interpretation. One person may think that this means God just wants us standing around praising Him all day and all night. This does not strike me as a very well balanced discipleship and so I have discarded it as too general.

We might just quote a Scripture. This would be the safest thing to do. There are several to choose from which could be argued are mission statements.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?(Micah 6:8)
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecc. 12:13)

We might quote the words of Jesus,

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.(Mark 12:29-31)

All of these verses are quite comprehensive and certainly would suffice as a reasonable answer as to what our job is. If, however, I were asked to put our job in my own words, it would be this.

Our job is to get as many people into the Kingdom of God as possible.

This, to me, is the essence of discipleship and my own personal job description for what I think I need to do to serve Christ. The great paradox of Christianity and one of the greatest proofs that it is Divinely created is the truth that if one tries to get themselves into the Kingdom of God by excluding others, abusing others, one-upping others and so forth, we ourselves will be cast out. It is only by me trying to get you into the Kingdom that I get myself in. Once I start serving self to the exclusion of you, I lose what I was trying for in the first place.

I also like this mission statement because it clearly encompasses so many practical behaviors. It brings a natural, practical balance to discipleship that manifests itself in the very behaviors that Jesus himself modeled so clearly for us.

Here is a partial list of those behaviors we will elaborate on.

We will take a look at some of these things in the coming weeks.

Have a great week,


Comments»

1. Sherry Johnson - March 1, 2011

Hi Kyle,

First let me say that I really, really do enjoy reading your thoughts for the week. They are always thought provoking. And so in that vain, I would like to comment on this weeks thought. I completely agree that to say that to just glorify God as our job is too general. But saying that I also think that bringing that part of our job down to a personal level is something we should endeavor to do so that we will seek meaning and purpose to the glorifying. I am anxious to see what your definitions of other behaviors will be – I have some thoughts on the “retrieving lost sheep” section.

Thank you for your service to me and the rest of the body in bringing our minds closer to our Heavenly Father and His Son and the purpose of our existence.

Love to you always, Sherry Johnsoln