Friday, July 15, 2016
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If you asked our daughter what was one of the most memorable Christmas gifts she ever received as a girl, I think she'd say the dollhouse. Now there are certainly better crafted dollhouses than the one her mother and I gave her, but we made this one! One December, we just hung a "closed" sign on the basement door and we made it into our workshop. Of course our hammering and sawing down there drove all three kids crazy. "What's going on down there?" Frankly, my December was really crammed, so the work was often pretty late. And it took quite a few hours (Face it, I was not ever asked back in the days of that Tool Time show to ever make a guest appearance). But I enjoyed every minute of working on that dollhouse. Was I tired? Yes. Was I too busy to be taking on this project? Yes. Did this make me go beyond the things I do well? For sure. Was it a pleasure? Yes! Why? Because it was for a little girl I loved very much.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "What Love Does To Work."
Washing someone's feet is not my idea of a job I'd enjoy. But listen to Mary's experience in Luke 7. "When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them." Later, Jesus explained what had been in her heart, "She loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little" (Luke 7:47).
That woman threw everything she had into serving Jesus. She kissed His feet, anointed Him with perfume, and dried His feet with her hair. This was not work for her; this was love. Work is so different when it's an act of loving worship.
Which leads us to our word for today from the Word of God in Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Just like my wife and I working on that dollhouse, when you do it for someone you love, you can do it with joy and you can do it with all your heart.
Maybe you've just been cranking out your responsibilities lately; it's joyless, it's often drudgery. Maybe those around you would testify to hearing more complaining and more negative from your corner lately. It could be you're working for the wrong person.
Don't do it for your boss. Don't do it for your company. Don't work for your pastor or your employees or even your mate or your children. They will all disappoint you sooner or later. They'll make you feel unappreciated. But the work becomes lighter and more joyful when you begin each responsibility by saying, "Lord, I dedicate this everyday chore to You. I love You and this is a love offering." Jesus is worth it! And Jesus will see that every sacrifice, every effort is fully rewarded.
That woman with the perfume used everything she could find to love Jesus. That's a beautiful picture-grabbing everything you do as something to love your Master with.
As busy and tired and inadequate as I was building that dollhouse, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was for someone I really loved. Do your work for someone you really love-for Jesus, who loved you enough to die for you. You may not always love your work, but it makes all the difference when you work for love.