Lesson 8: How to Make Much of Christ From 8 to 5

Jesus Says: "I don't ask that you [God] take them out of the world but you keep them from evil."

The temptation through reading this book is to begin to get a picture that unless we are all pastors or missionaries or involved specifically in a form of ministry we are wasting our lives. But the Bible makes it clear that this is not the case. God's will is for his people to be scattered like light and salt among the whole range of secular vocations.

"The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep." Ecc. 5:12

"Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." Titus 2: 9-10

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,
to mind your own business and to work with your hands,
just as we told you. For even when we were with you,
we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

"We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat." 2 Thessalonians 3: 10-12

My fingers that I type with, my hands that I hold with, my legs that I run with, my eyes that I see with, my mind that I think with; these are all parts of a body that was created. What does it mean to "create"? 1. To cause to exist 2. To give rise to; produce 3. To invest with an office or title 4. To produce through artistic or imaginative effort.

God "created" us and the world. He caused us into existence, He produced and gave rise to our bodies, He invested us by placing us in dominion over His creation, and out of His great imagination and creativity we have being. Work was not meant to be something dreaded...we were created in God's image to be creative, to maintain, and to cause things to exist just as He has!

So as we may find ourselves in various secular locations or with other responsibilities, how do we do what Piper has been reminding us to do (Living to make much of Christ) especially if we do not have the ability to speak freely about the Lord while we are at work?

1. Fellowship with God throughout the day
2. Industry- (even the beavers and bees make amazing things and can not verbalize their praise to the Lord... How are we different than them?)
3. Adorning the doctrine of God
4. Earning
5. Giving

We need to recognize that God's design for us is to work. He has designed us to create and to be His image bearers. Being an image bearer of the Lord is more than just standing in a display case, it's bringing to life the image that God has created us for! We may not be called to specific mission work to an un-reached people group, but we are able to be God's hands and feet by removing stumbling blocks for our co-workers by working hard! We can have joy in what we do as we focus on the benefit our product or service brings to society!

Making much of Christ from 8 to 5 is all about living life abundantly. It is recognizing the gifts and talents we have and bringing glory to the Lord by working at these things with all our hearts.