Work Hard!

A difficult thing for Christians to balance is the necessity of hard work.  I have heard it preached (myself included!) that spiritual growth is a natural product of abiding in Christ.  The life of a Christian will produce spiritual fruit due to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  This is completely true.  At the same time, we have been called and empowered by God to labour for Him.  These are not a conflicting statements, but are intended to compliment one another.  We have a responsibility to choose to follow Christ, submit to the leading of the Spirit, and work hard motivated by the love of Jesus Christ.

In our modern society, we seem to grasp at anything to make life easier or find ways to eliminate work or effort to obtain the results we want.  Some body-builders and athletes resort to supplements to achieve faster results from workouts.  We buy all sorts of kitchen appliances and gizmos to make meal preparation and household chores easier.  We want the results now!  Even Hollywood enforces the desire to skip over hard work.  The famous "Rocky" movies starring Sylvester Stallone all chronicle a fighter's rise from a nobody to a world champion.  Every movie I've seen includes a short training montage of about three minutes in length with inspirational music and slow motion.  We see Rocky jogging, doing push-ups, punching sides of beef, running on the beach, or working on the speed bag.  Months and months of hard work and total commitment are condensed into a short scene.  Tons of movies do this exact same thing:  the hard work, determination, sweat, pain, and persistence are glossed over so we can quickly get to the part where the underdog wins again.

The Christian walk is hard work.  We can fall into the trap of emphasizing God's part to a degree that we ignore completely our responsibility to labour for God's glory.  Recently I started working out with a barbell and kettlebell because my overall fitness has suffered from five years of office work.  It would be ridiculous for me to suppose my muscles will automatically grow stronger and my fitness level will naturally increase through sedentary habits.  If I desire stronger, toned muscles, I must work to obtain that result through lifting weights, riding a bike, jogging, eating good food, and not eating too much!  Spiritually speaking, our sanctification works in similar fashion.  By working I cannot be any more justified than I am before God by His grace.  Yet I am called to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling!  There are things I must work to cultivate in my life:  prayer, fellowship with God, reading of the Word, and feeding on God's faithfulness.  There are also area I must show discernment and restraint:  what I watch on TV and the internet, my attitudes, habits, and thoughts.

Galatians 2:20-21 reads, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  My salvation is God's finished work, as is my sanctification.  It is God who works in me both to will and do of His good pleasure.  Though this is true, it does not permit me to live life as a sedentary Christian, duped to think that God will do a work within me despite unconfessed disobedience, selfishness, and pride.  God has designed an amazing partnership with His people, that it is no longer we who live but Christ in us.  The work I must commit myself to is to allow God to do whatever work He desires through me:  it is a work of repentance, humility, and submission - a work only He can accomplish!

Jesus says in John 5:17, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  May we follow Christ example in labouring for the glory of God!  It would be foolish for us to substitute methods when God has provided the means through the Holy Spirit.  There is no set spiritual workout for Christians to do, no pill or tablet to take to quicken the process of sanctification, no book to read outside of the Bible which will unlock the path to spiritual growth.  The Bible teaches we must be led by the Spirit and empowered by Him to embrace a life of hard toil for God's glory.  A runner does not start with marathons, nor does a man begin his workout routine by squatting 300 kilos.  Start small, but start working!  Don't give up!  There are no shortcuts in the race God has set before you.  Look unto Jesus and be strong in the LORD and power of His might.  We are all in this together, and God has provided Himself as the means of strength and victory. 

I close with Philippians 1:3-6:  "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..."  Our triumph is not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ who has overcome and put all under His feet.  As He works in us, may we work for Him!