The Labor Day holiday is a good time to be reminded that the work of God happens when the people of God work. God intends to work in this world through us. This should encourage and motivate us to get busy with God’s business. But what can we correctly say is God’s business?
The Lord’s Prayer is repeated every Sunday by millions of Christians around the world, and in that prayer we petition God that his name be made holy and that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So what is his will and how will it be done?
In Luke 4:16-21, we read that Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth, and on the first Sabbath, went to the synagogue where he read the prophetic listing of the Messiah’s work credentials and surprisingly claimed them as his own. And later, he listed the same work credentials to the disciples of John the Baptist when they asked, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
I believe these social concerns continue to be the authentic work credentials for all God’s people living today. This is God’s business. I firmly believe that following Jesus is a commitment to daily participate in God’s transforming, redemptive work in the world, so that God’s will is made evident “on earth as it is in heaven” by our deeds and labor.
Anabaptist Christians believe the New Testament scriptures teach that Christian faith is made visible in Jesus-like acts of compassionate love and material generosity. We believe that Christian faith is more than worship and verbal commitment to the Lordship of Jesus on a Sunday morning, but is also the live performance of that worship and commitment in every conversation and activity of life Monday through Saturday. It is “walking the talk” of Jesus’ lordship and love in our worship, work and every relational encounter.
Or, as Jesus would say in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” And in verses 44-45, we hear this also includes our response toward our enemies. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
As evidence of walking with Jesus, Anabaptist Christians have cultivated the practice of serving others because we believe this is the example and command of Jesus for our lives. We believe that God’s Spirit is at work where social concerns and human needs are responded to with authentic love and practical efforts. This is what identifies us as followers of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, Anabaptist Christians do not serve others because of political mandate, financial profit, or religious necessity. We have a genuine compassion and love for others and serve their needs in response to what Christ Jesus has done for us. We joyfully, generously, and even sacrificially work to provide for those in need because of the love and Spirit of Christ, which fills our life and has transformed our hearts.
When James and John, two disciples of Jesus, asked him to give them positions of honor and power in His Kingdom, Jesus replied that those who wish to be great must become servants, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk.10:45).
For this Labor Day, let us rethink how deeply we believe that serving others and making sacrifices in their behalf should be the normal behavior of those who follow Jesus as Lord in their life. How committed am I to laboring in God’s business of loving and caring for the world through me? How sincere am I in praying “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?
I challenge us to sincerely invest ourselves in God’s business of bringing life and light, joy and peace to our churches, towns, nation, and world through us, his people who “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8).
In doing so, be encouraged by Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Amen!
“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – August 28, 2019
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
Leave a comment