When your alarm clock went off this morning and you had to get ready for your day, what was your attitude? With Christmas being a week from today, it’s not uncommon for folks to feel “checked-out” from work right before the holidays. Maybe you are the opposite – anxious and stressed about all that needs to get done before the holidays. But as you prepared for work this morning, did you consider what a blessing it is to work?

I know for myself, it can be easy to forget that to work is a blessing & a calling. In fact going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, God called Adam and Eve to work. Common verses (often called the cultural mandate) show up in Genesis 1:26-29, Where God created mankind in His image to “rule over” creation. He later commands them to “fill the earth and subdue it”. In the next chapter of Genesis (2:15) the Lord created Adam and placed him in the garden “to work it and take care of it.” A few verses later, (2:19) the chapter goes on to talk about Adam working to help name all of the creatures God created. All of these verses reference the work God provided to Adam (and Eve) BEFORE sin entered the world in Genesis chapter 3.

I think it can be easy to view work as a result of sin or something we must suffer through, but the opposite is true! Work in and of itself is something God designed us for. Yes, after sin entered the world our work became more challenging (Genesis 3:17-19) and the earth was cursed as a result of sin. Yet God called you and I to work even before sin entered the world. God created us not to sit idol, but to worship Him, fellowship with Him, and work alongside Him (as in the garden). God does not NEED us to work; He is sovereign and in control of all things. Rather he invites us into his work.

So whatever role God has called you to in this stage of life – making pizza & chicken, working a desk job, raising children, etc. – remember it is a blessing to work. Your Monday Mission this week is to finish out your work week strong & grateful as you prepare to celebrate Christmas & Christ’s birth this coming weekend!

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash