I’ve had the conversation many times over the years. It goes like this:

Friend: “I feel guilty because my job gets in the way of serving the Lord.”

Me: “But what if I had told you your work is perhaps the primary way you serve the Lord?”

Friend: “What do you mean? I’ve never heard that before.

Me: “Your work is a holy calling by which you might bless those around you, thus glorifying God and exalting your Savior. It is the matter to which you give the greatest measure of your time, your intellect, your vision. Leverage your skill, passion and time—your vocation—to reflect and promote God’s kingdom. In that the Lord is greatly honored and served.”

Friend: “I’ve never heard anyone suggest my work matters like that.”

But indeed, our work does matter! Our vocations really are important and provide ample space in which our Lord Jesus is greatly honored and served as people are blessed and our own souls fulfilled. This clearly reflects the beating heart of our Father, whose first directive to His boys and girls was that as fellow image-bearers they have “dominion” over the created order (Genesis 1:28). It is this directive that shapes our commitment within the New Hope Church family to live with purpose.

So it is that this September and October, Lord willing, we as a community are going to explore from God’s Word what it means to close the gap between so-called “Sunday worship” and “Monday work.” How can we reframe our understanding of our jobs, whatever they are, so that we celebrate them as holy callings from God, holy gifts from His hand and leverage them to declare God’s glory?

You really matter. So does the work God has brought into your life. Let’s celebrate this and pursue it for God’s great glory!

Pastor Matthew St. John is senior pastor at New Hope Church. He's passionate about people seeing, experiencing and celebrating their worth in everyday life. New Hope Church is a place to investigate who God has made you to be and learn to live it more fully.

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