The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary

         The Lord’s Work Camp!              

    Is there a relationship between having a job and working? Some people apparently don’t think so! Jay Leno once reported, “Researchers at Harvard say that taking a power nap for an hour in the afternoon can totally refresh you. They say by the time you wake up you’ll feel so good, you’ll be able to start looking for a new job.” Someone said that too many people quit looking for work when they find a job! Famous Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi is credited with saying, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Sam Ewing said, "hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and don’t turn up at all.”

    These statements hold true in the church. That is, there is a relationship between being a Christian and working! Near the end of the Bible, in Revelation 14:13, the apostle John told readers, “Then I heard a voice from from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” The truth stated in this verse is that those who die ”in the Lord” die in the same spiritually safe and secure location they were in while alive! As Christians, they are blessed before death, but after death they are blessed because they can “rest from their labors. . . .and their works follow them.” That inspired comment brings to mind the words of Hebrews 6:10 where another inspired writer reminded God’s people, “God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” These passages remind us Christians are involved in a “work camp” – the Lord’s work camp, that is! Every child of God is instructed to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” and to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (1 Corinthians 15:58; Philippians 2:12).

Moreover, in Titus 2:12 we learn that Jesus “gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” The apostle Paul went on to urge Titus to remind God’s people to “be ready for every good work” (3:1), and that “. . . these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men” (3:8). Authentic Christians worship – but they are also engaged in the Lord’s work camp! The work includes many different things – from praying to preaching; from building to baking; from singing to sharing; from teaching a class to mowing grass; from writing a note to providing hope; from wiping a tear to just being near; from lending an ear to lending a hand; from taking some food to turning a screw; from helping a heart mend to being a friend. This week the Lord is having a “work camp.” And next week. And a week after that – etc., etc. etc.! Are you turning up your sleeves, turning up your nose, or not turning up at all?

--Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN