Before humankind fell into sin, the Scripture records what God meant for those He made in His image. Not only were they to enjoy God’s presence and fellowship, but they were to work. Genesis 2 notes, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” It is for this reason that every human being has to do something. In fact, people get greatly frustrated by inactivity because we were never designed to live and grow the way a tree does (simply existing in a single location). We were designed to work; to accomplish that which is pleasing to our senses, giving order and structure to the world around us.
But it is not just that we are to work. Rather, we are to work in a way which is free from stressful urgency, and in an environment that is both beneficial (providing food for our bodies) and joyful (a delights to behold).
It follows then that the Kingdom of God is not an expectation to sit on a cloud and listen to a harp for eternity. God’s reign and rule includes meaningful and productive work for His people. But that work and productivity is nothing like the harsh and often urgent demands that humankind currently experience in the workplace. Nor is it the difficult burden of trying to prove oneself worthy to an exacting and ungracious god. For these reasons Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
A yoke is not something most in our highly mechanized world know about. The word is used for a piece of wood that a farm owner would put on the shoulders of his animal(s), and to which would be fastened ropes to a farm implement. The animal could then be used to pull the implement (usually a plow) through a field to work the ground. No doubt Jesus deliberately fashioned the illustration to connect our sense of work being difficult and His remembrance of Adam’s original job as delightful.
Yet one cannot help but note that the onus is on the individual. We are to take His yoke. He is too humble and gentle to force it upon us. The paradox of taking something to ourselves that involves obedience and labor as sources of rest and comfort is something we need to learn.
When we do accept His assignment, we realize that working in the Kingdom of God is not to satisfy a boss at work or even to provide for ourselves. Rather, work is to bring glory to our creator and Lord and to fulfill our purpose as creation. Subsequently, we find ourselves being freed from our daily grind. Our work becomes something we do with energy and vigor because we want to please God, and God in His pleasure lets us see how He is using our work to bring the blessing of His Kingdom to others (whether lost or saved, mature or immature).
Whether we labor at a highly physical job or a think tank, whether it is work for subsistence or work for enormous profit, working with and because of Jesus is satisfying, even in the here and now. How much more so in the days to come, when His Kingdom is fully here physically as well as spiritually!
Fame, pleasure and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans.
John Piper
APPLICATION: Intentionality
Work for ourselves or a boss is miserable and grinding activity. Work with and for God is joy and lightheartedness, even if it is physically taxing.