The Oasis - August 28,2024
Author: Rev. Eric Dupee
August 28, 2024
Labor Day began in 1882 in New York City with a parade organized by a machinist and a carpenter. As we come up to Labor Day weekend, it’s an opportune time to reflect on the theology of work. In a blog post, Russell Gehrlein indicates “God loves people through human work.” He quotes Tim Keller, from his book, Every Good Endeavor. Keller affirms, “God’s loving care comes to us largely through the labor of others. Work is a major instrument of God’s providence; it is how [God] sustains the human world.”
According to Martin Luther, a leader in the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, “Through the human pursuit of vocations across the array of earthly stations the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, the sick are healed, the ignorant are enlightened, and the weak are protected … In the activity of work, God is present as the one who provides us with all that we need.”
I have a core belief that almost any job can be a ministry. That’s because most jobs care for the needs of people in some way. Whether it is work as a doctor, a mechanic, an accountant, a house cleaner, or even efforts to host coffee hour on Sunday morning, all these forms of labor serve the needs of people. I invite you to think of your work as a partnership with God.
Blessings,
Eric
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