Work and Evangelism

So again I kind of let my posting slip a little bit so in order to keep y'all in the loop I again will cover two weeks worth of RUF in one post. As it turns out the two weeks flow quite smoothly in and through each other so that makes my job an easy one.

"You know what work reminds me of? ... The Gospel!" -

So there is a quote from our late chancellor and founder that floats around my schools campus. "If it's Christian it should be better." Now for the past 3 years I have to admit that I had let cynicism dominate and disregard that statement much to my detriment. This was because I was looking at the visible church not the invisible. After reading the chapter on work my perspective took a drastic shift. If we are Christians we are commanded to be better! It's not just a nice thought or inspirational anecdote. As a lazy person I like to think that work was part of the fall. If Adam and Eve hadn't screwed up I could sleep all day and get up when i feel like it. I could sit around reading or watching TV and just reveling in idleness. False. In Genesis 1:26 God says "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." I don't know about you but to me that sure sounds like a job. There was nothing in there about sitting around and reveling in idleness. And to be honest my sinful lazy heart is not really happy about that. But I can't deny it. Work was part of God's plan from the very beginning.

So that being said what does that mean Godly work should look like? What does that mean the 7:00am-3:30pm Monday through Friday should look like for me? Well there has to be a switch of motivations. I should be motivated to get out of my nice warm bed at the crack of dawn by the Gospel. I should be motivated to have the Gospel so desperately infused in my life that there is a difference in the way I get to a meeting on time, the way I act in said meeting, the way I respond to my employer when he wants a project done by yesterday, the way I answer my phone. Now of course I am not saying just slap a happy and I might add creepy fake smile. But if the Gospel truly engulfs our lives isn't there an under lying joy that should emanate from us even through the stress and difficult times? (I can feel the temptation for a rabbit trail but I will save that for another post.) Should I not be seeking to carry myself in such a way that coworkers and clients see and wonder at the joy that is within me? Shouldn't my work be a form of evangelism? That being said...

Evangelism -

So I recently went on a mission trip to Chicago back in January. But while there my entire view of evangelism was turned upside down and inside out. Until Chicago the word evangelism evoked mental images of Robert Tilton and Billy Graham. It made me think of soap boxes and street corners, tracks and bible thumping. Well that is the romantic and TV worthy evangelism and yes it brings many people to Christ but there is another form that is in my estimation the best kept secret of the church. Relationship. I have already touched on this in previous posts but evangelism is a commitment. Tim Keller spoke of "Oikos" or Household Evangelism. That is to say that evangelism is investing in someones life and getting to know them on a level that most others don't care to know; to know them and their family. It's showing your love for them through Christ. It's showing them that maybe, just maybe their preconceived notions of Christ and His followers are wrong. It's as my dear intern says "stacking up the chips to cash them in later."

Now something you should know about me is that I am very much a "fix-it" type of person. I like to come in give a quick fix response, have people "oh" and "ah" over my amazing wisdom and then have people follow my advice and be done with it. Well surprise surprise that's sin. Its not about me. Its not a get in and get out situation. You can't just slap a band aid on someones heart and expect it to stick. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes follow through. It takes dedication. And in the air of honesty I am sorely lacking in all of those. But I know what I am commanded and I know what I need to do. And I know that I have the Holy Spirit on my side and He will fill in where I lack. (Side thought/rabbit trail: the more the Holy Spirit fills in where I am lacking the less of me is left. I look forward to being completely filled with the Holy Spirit so that I can stop sabotaging my life and others).

God grant me the patience and grace to evangelize as I am commanded and humble me to let it be your words that flow from me and not my own sinful ones.