Doing the Lord's Work (1 Cor. 16:10-12)

Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. So let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. But concerning Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity.
(1 Corinthians 16:10-12, NASB)

Doing the Lord’s work …

We have been created for a purpose: to love our Lord—heart, soul, mind, and strength—and to love others (see Mark 12:30-31). How we demonstrate that love may be different as we use our God-given gifts to serve Him and others.

Some of us may preach or teach. Some of us may open our homes to encourage others. Some of us may offer mercy to the hurting. Some of us may pray without ceasing, interceding for those in need.

I’ve probably written this before, but I find it absolutely amazing—and overwhelmingly humbling—that God chooses us to do His work. We, who are weak, fleshly, flawed, are a critical part of His kingdom-building.

Amazing.

Yet, so often, we take this sacred responsibility for granted. We serve Him when it’s convenient for us. We help others when we have nothing better to do.

If it doesn’t interfere with our social lives, our television watching, our sports … well, then we can serve God, then we can do the work He’s called us to do.

The greatest commandment, according to Jesus Himself, is to love God. And the second is to love others. To show our love for Him, we must do what He calls us to do. We must do His work.

No hesitation. No “I will when I have time.” No “I will if there’s nothing better to do.”

If we all did what God’s called us to do, if we truly loved Him, if we strove to serve others with love … how different might this world be?

Let’s do the Lord’s work. Joyfully. Diligently. Humbly. And maybe we’ll change the world.