“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:6-10
While reading this passage I thought of those Sunday night singing sessions where members of our church congregation chose the hymns we would sing. As my dad was the choir leader, my mom and I used every opportunity to choose a song just high enough out of his vocal range so we could hear his voice crack from the pulpit. The song, which was written by Fanny Crosby, was titled “To the Work,” and honestly made no significant impression on me until much later. It’s funny how God uses things like hymns and verses we memorized as children to speak to us much later in life. The whole song is about laboring for Christ, with the chorus repeating, “Toiling on, toiling on…” Sounds like drudgery, right? But it’s not! It’s actually quite a fun song to sing.
So, too, the work God calls us to may seem boring, mundane, or just plain hard. But it is life giving! Not just in the life after this one ends, but RIGHT NOW! God promises earthly blessings along with the heavenly ones. That is great news for my instant-gratification-loving-self. I will work so hard for many things that have no eternal value. Cleaning my home regularly, organizing, making sure my children complete every math problem on their papers, exercising, and getting my eyeliner just right are a small sample. These things make me feel successful when I complete them (a feeling I dearly love). Are these beneficial? Absolutely! And most are duties to which God has called me. BUT, nothing is as beneficial as reading God’s Word, spending time with Him, reading scripture to my children, and training them to love and follow Him with their whole hearts. Those are the things over which I should be toiling and striving each day. They have eternal benefits. But the great news is they also yield rewards right now! The satisfaction that comes from living the life God has planned for us is unbeatable. Maintaining a clear conscience leads to an abundant life.
These might not be the rewards we value if we’re not daily following Christ, but when you think about it, what is everyone’s motive for the decisions they make? Isn’t it happiness and contentment? We want new clothes to look nice because of the happy feeling we get. An expensive car gets us attention and makes us feel happy. My house after a good cleaning makes me happy. But oh, this type of happiness is so temporary. The kind that comes from a right relationship with the Lord is ABUNDANT!
God is patiently teaching me to put these things above all others in my life. It has to be out of His great love, because I would’ve given up on me by now. My knee-jerk is to tend to my home or get out the door for that appointment before my time with Him. Those things are good- yes, even necessary; but they aren’t to be number one.
By the way…Fanny Crosby went blind as a child, living out the rest of her life in physical darkness. One would think God’s work would seem particularly tedious for her. Yet here are her words:
“It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.”
Father, grant us the faith to put time with You before all else, trusting You to work out all of our other responsibilities. Thank You for the heavenly and earthly rewards You promise when we heed Your direction for our lives. Help us to do the work to which You have called us with a thankful attitude, having our hope set on You, our living God and Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.