What is your idea of working for God? Do you believe it is endless? Do you look at all the evil going on the in the world and think God wants you to work to eliminate it? Do you not realize it is not your responsibility? Does that sound out of whack?
Many of us will point to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving a cool drink of water to someone who is thirsty, caring for the sick, and a litany of other things as the work of God. Not that those things are not good, but we would be wrong.
Why are we wrong? Well, we are not entirely wrong. However, we first must put our priorities in order. Jesus states specifically what the work of God is when He is asked. He says it is to believe in the one God sent. In other words, our work is to believe in Jesus.
Now, believing in Jesus, following His example and teachings does include doing other good works. Paul tells us God prepared good works for us in advance (Ephesians 2:10). You may think this is splitting hairs but notice the subtle difference. Jesus says the work of God is to believe in Him. Paul says God prepared good works for us to do. One is the work of God, the other is a work prepared for us.
We must first do the work of God. We must believe in His Son. We must believe He was sent to be our Lord and Savior. We must believe He lived, was crucified for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. We must believe His teachings. We must desire to obey His commands. If we don’t do these things first, our good works are no better served than if they were done by an agnostic or atheist or any other non-believer.
Do not misunderstand, good works are good. Otherwise, they would not be called good works. Yet, the motivation behind those good works is important. When we believe in Jesus Christ and are doing all the good works in His name, there is a huge difference in how they are carried out. There is a huge difference in the impact we have through those good works.
I pray we all believe in the Son of God. I pray we believe He lived, died, was buried, and rose on the third day. I pray each one of us do good works for Him, not ourselves. Work for God. Do God’s work. Do the good works God prepared for you. Do them in Jesus’ name. Make a big impact.
John 6:28-29 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Marty Pressey 