Living the Word’s way day after day brings great blessings and prosperity to our lives. Our homes are blessed, our fellowships are blessed, and our lives flourish and prosper as we keep God first. As God’s Word prevails in our lives, we have the joy of reaching out with that Word in every segment of life—community, business, education, art, culture—as witnesses of God’s love, power, wisdom, and more. We have a tremendous opportunity to positively influence every area of life we are involved in.
One of the areas so many of us spend our time and energy in is the workplace. Day after day we have the opportunity to contribute our time, our talents, our labor, and our love to the workplace, positively affecting not only our fellow employees but also the culture of our businesses and occupations. As born-again sons of God, we are qualified and equipped to be witnesses for God and His Son Jesus Christ in all we do. That includes being effectual witnesses in our businesses and professions. We can live the Word’s way in our occupations, radiating God’s light and bringing glory to Him.
As born-again sons of God, we’ve been offered the “assignment” of a lifetime: to be witnesses for God and His Son Jesus Christ. Before his ascension, when Jesus Christ was taken up to sit at the right hand of God, he gave his apostles instructions regarding their upcoming responsibility.
Acts 1:8:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost [holy spirit] is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
After receiving into manifestation the gift of holy spirit, the apostles were to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. Likewise, once we become born-again sons of God, filled with the power of the holy spirit, we are given the assignment to be witnesses. We are the children of light (I Thessalonians 5:5), with Christ in us and the capability to shine as lights in this world.
Ephesians 5:8:
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
Colossians 1:27:
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Philippians 2:15 and 16:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
II Corinthians 4:5 and 6:
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
What a tremendous job opportunity God has given us—to shine as lights in this world, holding forth the Word of Life. In our secular occupations, we may not go door-to-door witnessing or organize fellowships for our fellow workers, but we radiate God’s light in all that we do. We make known Christ as our lives and our work ethics lovingly express the truth of God’s Word and His will. We speak truly, we live truly, and we deal truly. We live the Word’s way so that the light of the glory of God in us can be seen by others. Jesus Christ exhorted his disciples in this manner, as we see in Matthew 5.
Matthew 5:14-16:
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
No matter what position we may hold in our occupations, as sons of God we shine as lights in this world. We want to radiate God’s light so that others may see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father.
What are the good works that Jesus Christ was speaking of here? The Greek word for “good” in Matthew 5:16 is kalos, which can be defined as “virtuous”; “beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy; morally good, noble.” When we walk in the light of God’s Word, we shine as lights, and our works manifest our purity of heart and life. Others see our works that are beautiful, virtuous, praiseworthy, morally good, and noble—and this brings glory to God.
A believer’s work ethic is not a list of dos and don’ts in order to appear “good” and to be a good example; rather it is based on the purity of one’s heart to love God and serve Him with the whole heart. We can manifest good, virtuous, beautiful, praiseworthy works in all that we do as we operate the principles of God’s Word….
This is an excerpt from the January/February 2015 issue of The Way Magazine.
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