Endurance

Growing up in a conservative Christian home, I was taught the value of hard work from an early age. Grit and grind almost became an ethos in our house where the harder the job was, the better it was for you. Admittedly, as I grew into a young adult I have thanked my parents for instilling in me these values because it has made me significantly better as a man (even if I did resist it as a kid!).

When I was a child I submitted to the chores asked of me from a place of positional obligation, meaning I was the child and I obeyed the leadership of my parents. I leaned in and made sure I got the jobs around the house done, and eventually I also became encouraged by completing more challenging tasks. Now as an adult, my life has been programmed to embrace what is difficult and to take the path of greatest resistance. But without someone telling me I have to, why choose the harder route?

The day I turned my life over to Christ was the day I began living for my “audience of one”. It’s not the positional authority of a boss or a parent who tells you to work hard just because, but He is the object of my heart’s desire to honor and serve with every offering my body is capable of. Every ounce of labor I do here on earth is to glorify my Heavenly Father, which transcends the groans of worldly discomfort. As Paul reminds us in Colossians:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters….it is the Lord Christ you are serving” (vs. 3:23-24).

Each day when I set out for work I remind myself of this verse. It strengthens me to endure the rigors of professional demand, and most importantly, to remember WHO I do it for. This alleviates desire for recognition. It gives me energy to go above and beyond. It postures my heart for serving others in a way that models Jesus’ love. When we work as if we are serving Christ the pain of labor is evaporated and replaced with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few…now go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves” Luke 10:2