Work with God Today

I’m always fascinated by what people do for a living or do with their time any given day. I often ask people, “What do you do?” That is a common question. A lot of times people will tell you their task, their title, or sometimes they will tell you their company, who they do their work with. I think what you do is less important than with whom you do it. For instance, someone tells me they are a custodian. They clean up a space. That is important as it is, but suppose they are doing this in the White House or even the West Wing of the White House. If you asked them what they do, do you think they would tell you they are a janitor or that they work at the White House? Both have relevance, but in this case what they are doing is not as important as with whom they are doing it.

In II Corinthians 6:1 the Apostle Paul says, “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” Look, work with God today. Paul says, “I do.” He says, “You also, and don’t receive the grace that God has given to you for no effect or in vain.” Work with God today. What you do and maybe the position, place, or title you have are not totally irrelevant, but they are not nearly as important as with whom you are doing that work, the company you keep, and for whom you are doing it.

First, give good news today. At the end of II Corinthians 5, the preceding verses to our text, Paul says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” We are in Christ’s stead. In the next verse we find out that Christ was in our stead. “For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us.” So, we are ambassadors for Him and He became sin for us. He was in our stead.

It continues, “Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The only righteousness that God is not duty bound to reject because it is inferior is His own, and you cannot get that by your works. You get that by faith in Christ. So, Christ took our place. We beseech others in Christ’s stead. It is almost as if God beseeches other people through us. God is not going to come down and give your neighbor the good news. He is not going to send an angel to give your neighbor good news if you are talking about a heavenly messenger, but He would send you.

If God gave the good news to your neighbor, would He give it perfectly? Most certainly He would. I’m not perfect but God wants to give that gospel through you. So, give God’s news today and you’ll give it better than you would if you were just doing it on your own.

Second, give good comfort. In II Corinthians 7:6 Paul says, “Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he [Titus] was comforted in you.” So, who is the comforter, God or Titus? The answer is yes. God is a source of all comfort, but He works through people. The good news of the gospel comes through people. The comfort to God’s own people comes through other people. In fact, there was a chain reaction here. These people were a comfort to Titus, Titus was a comfort to Paul, and God was the source of all this.

What is important today is not what I am doing, it is for whom I am doing it. Am I doing it for myself? Some people are almost childlike in their desperation to be important, affirmed, liked, and applauded. I think we should give honor where it is due and be grateful to other people, but it is a hard way to live if everything has to be constructed around my importance. That makes for a hard life in which I am easy to be offended, miffed, and dissatisfied. Give good news and comfort and be a vessel that God uses. If you are a custodian, you are God’s custodian.

Second Corinthians 6:4 says, “But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God.” Later, Paul said that we as believers are the temple of God. So, we are ministers, God’s temple, God’s servants and stewards. It is interesting in II Corinthians 7 that Paul says what they were doing was in the sight of God. That is mentioned three times in this book. He talks about the service they did and how every time in each case it was “in the sight of God.” God is the one who judges, provides, and sees. When I do what matters to God, then God’s eye is on what I am doing. I Corinthians 3:1 says we are laborers together with God.

So, what do you do? When you do what matters, you do it for God. Give good news. Give good comfort. Work with God today.