What the Resurrection Means For Your Work
Do you ever wonder if your work really matters?
We know how that feels at the Home Office. Most of what we do is behind-the-scenes. There are a thousand little things that need to be done every day to support our missionaries: phone calls, emails, financial transfers, donations processed, tax forms prepared, spreadsheets created and analyzed, encouragement given.
Most of our staff don’t get the chance to stand in front of crowds and receive praise for what they do. Without their work, we wouldn’t be Global Outreach, and our misssionaries would need to look elsewhere for support.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul spends a long time talking about the resurrection. He has heard some false teachers claiming that the dead are not raised at all – in other words, once you die, you stay dead – and he’s concerned about this, because if that’s true, then Jesus himself wasn’t raised from the dead (15:13). And if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, our faith is “futile” (v. 17). The resurrection is a Gospel issue!
But Jesus was, in fact, raised from the dead, and this has wonderful consequences for those who believe in Him. Paul spends some time talking about what our resurrection bodies will be like (v. 35-49) and about what we can expect to happen in the future for those who are in Christ (v. 50-55). He praises God: “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 57).
And Paul doesn’t end there. He wants to make sure the believers understand that their hope of future glory has real influence on their day-to-day work right now. That’s why the final verse of chapter 15, before Paul moves on to a new subject, exhorts believers to stand firm: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (v. 58).
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christians have the glorious promise of a future in which we will have bodies like Jesus had after his resurrection. This is wonderful, but sometimes it can feel like an abstract promise, a hope that is far off, while we are stuck in the gritty reality of day-to-day work and struggle. Be encouraged today! Your work for the Lord (which includes your job and vocation, no matter whether you’re in “ministry” or not) matters, because Jesus has defeated the powers of sin and death. Pray that the Spirit shows you this today!
May you be encouraged in the truth that God values your work and desires for you to serve Him through it. Your work is valuable and meaningful because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Amen!