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Text: Ephesians 4:25-32
Sermon Title: What a Changed Life Looks Like: Work
REFLECTION
Two Tramps in Mud Time
Out of the mud two strangers came
And caught me splitting wood in the yard,
And one of them put me off my aim
By hailing cheerily “Hit them hard!”
I knew pretty well why he had dropped behind
And let the other go on a way.
I knew pretty well what he had in mind:
He wanted to take my job for pay.
Good blocks of oak it was I split,
As large around as the chopping block;
And every piece I squarely hit
Fell splinterless as a cloven rock.
The blows that a life of self-control
Spares to strike for the common good,
That day, giving a loose my soul,
I spent on the unimportant wood.
The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.
A bluebird comes tenderly up to alight
And turns to the wind to unruffle a plume,
His song so pitched as not to excite
A single flower as yet to bloom.
It is snowing a flake; and he half knew
Winter was only playing possum.
Except in color he isn’t blue,
But he wouldn’t advise a thing to blossom.
The water for which we may have to look
In summertime with a witching wand,
In every wheelrut’s now a brook,
In every print of a hoof a pond.
Be glad of water, but don’t forget
The lurking frost in the earth beneath
That will steal forth after the sun is set
And show on the water its crystal teeth.
The time when most I loved my task
The two must make me love it more
By coming with what they came to ask.
You’d think I never had felt before
The weight of an ax-head poised aloft,
The grip of earth on outspread feet,
The life of muscles rocking soft
And smooth and moist in vernal heat.
Out of the wood two hulking tramps
(From sleeping God knows where last night,
But not long since in the lumber camps).
They thought all chopping was theirs of right.
Men of the woods and lumberjacks,
They judged me by their appropriate tool.
Except as a fellow handled an ax
They had no way of knowing a fool.
Nothing on either side was said.
They knew they had but to stay their stay
And all their logic would fill my head:
As that I had no right to play
With what was another man’s work for gain.
My right might be love but theirs was need.
And where the two exist in twain
Theirs was the better right--agreed.
But yield who will to their separation,
My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight.
Only where love and need are one,
And the work is play for mortal stakes,
Is the deed ever really done
For Heaven and the future’s sakes.
Robert Frost
SERMON SNAPSHOT
As Christians, God’s radical love for us in Christ permeates and changes all areas of our lives, including our work. Paul demonstrates this in verse 28 by painting a picture of a burglar turned benefactor. In examining the theology of work behind this transformation, we must “put off” the misconceptions that work is a curse and that our work determines our identities. We should, instead, “put on” the notion of our work as a sacred calling from God. God is present in and behind our work, but He does not need our work; our neighbors need our work. The purpose of our work is to minister to others.
SERMON OVERVIEW
Intro: Sex and Money
There is a powerful drive behind our desire for sex and money, because sex and money are actually woven into the way God created us. Adam and Eve became “one flesh” and are told to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:26-28). Similarly, God commands them to work by tending the garden. We were made to work.
Two misconceptions about work that we must “put off”:
Work is a curse and a means to an end.
In Genesis 3, God puts a curse on work, but that does not mean work itself is a curse. God Himself is an artist and craftsman. He values work. Also, God gave Adam and Eve the vocation of tending the garden before The Fall, which means work was a part of Paradise.
My work determines my worth.
The false notion that we are what we do is fed by the work that goes on under our work. Beneath the surface or our jobs, we strive for glory, recognition and approval. As Christians, however, we must remember that “it is finished” and that Jesus has accomplished the work under our work for us. Our identity is in His finished work.
What should we “put on?”
A. The Place of Work in Our Lives
Martin Luther viewed every vocation as a sacred calling from God. Our vocation is a mask of God, behind which He hides Himself, working through us. Even though God uses our work, He does not need our work – but our neighbors do. In every job, we must ask ourselves, “Who are my neighbors? Who should I be caring for?”
All work matters to God. There is no divide between Church work and secular work. All work is charged with meaning.
Work done in faith has a different significance. It changes how you estimate your labor and how you see co-workers. They are no longer competition, but rather you root for you co-workers. We have the freedom to strive and relax. We can work hard and want to do our best, but then sit back and let God have the glory.
The Unemployed
You have time. Look for ways to serve.
You have vocations as friends, family members, and church members.
You have space to reevaluate your calling. In determining your calling, David Backstone says to “locate where your passion meets the needs of the world.”
The Purpose of Work
Our work is our ministry to others. God gives us a corner of His garden to tend, and the money we make from this work belongs to Him. It is to be given to those in need.
Conclusion
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians addresses Christians, so in verse 28, he is implying that there are thieves among us. The Bible assumes that we as Christians are liable to sin, to steal God’s glory. Yet, in Christ, there is hope for us thieves. Just as Jesus remembered the thief on the cross, He always remembers us.
COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS
Tell of a time that you served or cared for a coworker or a time when you were served by a fellow coworker. Did this change your working relationship?
What is your favorite part of your job? Do you see God behind this aspect of your work?
What is your least favorite part of your job? How can you start to see God in this part of your work?
In what way is your work cursed because of The Fall? How is work a blessing?
Do your moods mirror your circumstances or successes/failures at work? If yes, why do you think this is this case?
What are some signs that you are striving for excellence at work for your glory, instead of God’s glory?
If you’re presently unemployed, in what way can you use your time to fulfill your vocation?
How does knowing Jesus and His work transform how you work?
What are ways our community group can encourage one another to use our “passions to meet the needs of the world?”
