In concluding his Introduction to Every Good Endeavor, Pastor Timothy Keller lists 3 questions regarding the relationship between faith and work that his book seeks to answer, using God’s Word:
1. Why is work necessary to lead a full life?
2. Why is work so often pointless, fruitless, and difficult?
3. How do we overcome the difficulties of work as well as find satisfaction integrating faith and work?
Pastor Keller then begins Chapter 1 (“The Design of Work”) by discussing God’s view of work as described in the Book of Genesis. The author notes that, unlike other creation accounts of the time, the Bible states that creation is not the result of conflict or the aftermath of a battle, but the plan of a Craftsman. So, in the beginning, God worked. The Hebrew word for work repeatedly used in the first chapters of Genesis is mlkh, the word for ordinary human work. God worked for the sheer joy of working. Work was not a necessary evil introduced after The Fall.
The author continues by describing 3 characteristics of God’s work: (1) God doesn’t just work, He delights in it; (2) God’s work didn’t end with Creation- He also cares for His creation; (3) God commissions us to carry on His work. Not only is God our Provider, He works through us.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Meaningful work is foundational”
