How's Work?

In John 5:17, Jesus says to the Jews, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."

My question for you this morning is: How's work going? Now any of y'all that may know me, know that mine has been trying lately. Can I get an AMEN from those of you that were at church this past Sunday! 'Nuf said!

The thing is right now my work is a little tedious. We're switching to new services and trying to keep all the settings, responses, liturgy in the right places is nerve racking to me - and to be honest, not my favorite thing to do. Yesterday, I felt God knock me up side the head - not literally - but I heard Him ask me why I had such an attitude when I was doing His work. Truly doing HIS work - helping to develop a tool that will make worshiping HIM more meaningful. How do we handle that? When we have to do something that's not really what we enjoy, but the result directly impacts the way others worship or think about God.

Even though I'm doing it with something directly related to organized worship, if we call ourselves Christian, don't we all impact the way others think about/worship God with our attitudes and work ethics? I think so. The thing is we don't readily recognize it. If we gossip, do others think, "Is that how Christians talk." If we get angry quickly, do they think, "Is that how Christians react?" If we curse, do others think, "Is that what they think about God's name?" If we complain about our jobs, do others think, "Do Christians think they're better than the rest of us?" Not a very powerful witness, is it?

What are we to do, then? The Apostle Paul gives us valuable advice in 1 Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." We need to give ourselves over to the Lord and His work - recognizing that what we do and say and how we react have an impact on others. And God sees our work..,it will not be in vain...especially when we are doing the work of the Lord...and isn't it all God's work, anyway?