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Monday,
September 4th, the nation celebrates Labor Day, the annual celebration devoted
to the recognition of working people’s contribution in society. But those of
us who live lives of faith know there is more than a societal aspect in labor
— there is also a divine aspect. Every person is created in God’s image and
there are very real ways in which we are called to manifest that image in our
lives. One of the primary ways we reveal God’s image is in our work, which is
a sharing in his creative act. Remember, God was the first to work: “And
on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the
seventh day from all the work that he had done.”
(Genesis 2:2) He created the world and set it all into play according to His
plan, and we cooperate in this act through our own work. We work by making good
societies, making good families, and doing our jobs well. It is through the gift
of work that God gives us the chance to carry out His plan for the world and to
transform it. When we work, in the simplest, or grandest of ways, we should be
always aware that our work is a sharing in God’s work and the value of it
comes from him.
How
do we know that our work shares in God’s creative act? Well, right from the
beginning in the Garden of Eden, the Lord told Adam and Eve to work in the soil
and to care for the Garden. By the Lord’s command for Adam and Eve to work the
soil, we see that work is part of the original state and plan for men and women.
Why then is work sometimes so hard? Don’t forget that the toil of work came
later, as a result of the Fall. As a result of eating from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were told by God that “in toil you
shall eat of it all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:19) That is why work is
hard and sometimes difficult. But it is also a gift from God that enables us to
join in his creation and to manifest his image in our lives. By understanding
what God intended for us in the beginning and how we can find God in what we do,
the drudgery of work can be changed to a life-giving opportunity. This awareness
has the power to change whatever work we do into a means of grace, whether it be
in our office or at home.
So
this weekend, as you celebrate Labor Day, remember that work is a tool; it’s
given to us as a gift from God that can be made holy and bring us closer to God.
Nothing is too great or too small to be offered to God, and with the proper
perspective, we can find new meaning in everything we do.
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