November 03, 2024
"Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”"
- Genesis 1:28 (NKJV)
After creating man, God bestowed His blessing upon him in Genesis 1:28, commissioning him for existence. One of the elements within God’s blessing upon man is multiplication. Multiplication describes an increase. It means a rapid expansion or increment within a period. Essentially, God has woven into the very essence of human existence the expectation to multiply, along with the ability to both show and experience that multiplication.
One of the ways we can multiply is through WORK! Work is the deployment of resources into an activity to produce a desired outcome with the reward of compensation. Compensation could be monetary or otherwise. The first thing that God did was work. He created the heavens and the earth. When He finished, He compensated Himself with the reward of rest (Genesis 2:1-3). From this, we can learn some important points about work.
Are you working?
Firstly, we learn that work is an expression of a spirit being. God is Spirit (John 4:24) and we see God’s Spirit at work through creation (Genesis1:3-28). In 1st Corinthians 12:7-11, we find that the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (verses 8 through 10) are made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (verse 11 NIV). Since we are spirit beings like God our Father, then, like Him, we must work.
Secondly, work is for life. You would have thought that after finishing the work of creation and resting on the seventh day, God was done with work. No. Jesus says of God in John 5:17 NIV, “In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working”. If God has been working since creation and is at work till this day, it means God has not (and has never) retired.
God only rested from His work. It means then that retirement is the cessation of work. As Christians, we do not retire (since our heavenly Father has not retired). We transform our efforts to engage in different value-adding activities. Just like Him, we take time to rest at the right moments, following our work.
Are you working?
Song of Worship
Work, for the night is coming:
Work through the morning hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling:
Work mid springing flowers;
Work when the day grows brighter;
Work in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man's work is done!
Hymn: Work for the night is coming
Prayer - Dear Lord, thank you for the concept of work. Help me embrace all aspects of work according to Your Word that I may increase and multiply in my life in Jesus name, Amen.