Doing God's Work

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

We can all agree that we are to be the hands and feet of Christ and do His work. However, there always seems to be much debate about how that work is to be done. Or maybe there is no debate and sometimes we just do what we want to do and then say that we are doing it for the Lord.

As I have been studying the Old Testament, several themes ring loud and clear. One of them is this:

God's work must be done God's way.

In the story of Cain and Able, Cain was sincere in his offering to the Lord, but it wasn't God's way therefore it was unacceptable. In Leviticus 10, Aaron's son's offered "unauthorized fire" to the Lord and they were consumed by the presence of the Lord. I am sure that their offering was sincere, but it was not what God had told them to do. In 1 Chronicles 13, David sincerely wanted to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but he did not do it God's way and the consequences were quite severe.

God is serious about us doing what He asks us to do, but He is also serious about us doing it His way. I believe this is something we should not take lightly when it comes to our work in the church as well as outside the church. If we want God to bless our work for Him, we must start by asking Him how He wants it accomplished.

As we were leaving Gatlinburg last week, our 5 year old, Joel, prayed for us as we started our trip home. He prayed for God to keep us safe on the road, but then he said "and God, if you need us to do anything today for you, use us." Wow! Can we all be that open to His will? Not just that we will do it, but use us to do it the way You want it done.