The Labor Day holiday is a good time to be reminded that “the work of God happens when the people of God work.” God has chosen to work in this world through us. God daily awakens us to the new day, and graciously invites us to busy ourselves in his Kingdom business of loving and serving others.
The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray, 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 “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” But how do we know what is his will and how it will 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 Isaiah’s prophetic listing of the Messiah’s work credentials, and to the surprise and chagrin of his listeners, he claimed these work credentials as his own.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And later, in response to the disciples of John the Baptist asking him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” he again listed the same work credentials.
Undoubtedly, this is God’s Kingdom business. And the whole of biblical scriptures affirm that these same social concerns continue to be the authentic work credentials for all God’s people living today.
To follow Jesus is to commit to daily participation 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 actions (labor) and conversations.
Followers of Jesus, being rooted in Anabaptist-Christian theology, strongly 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 our worship and verbal commitment to the Lordship of Jesus on a Sunday morning. We must make our faith visible with a living performance of that commitment in our daily work, conversations, and activities from Monday through Saturday.
As evidence of our walking with Jesus, we strive to cultivate the practice of participating in opportunities for helping, sharing, and serving others in their time of need, because this is the example of Jesus and God’s second greatest command for all who accept his Kingship. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
This is often described as “walking the talk” of Jesus’ lordship, 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.”
Truly, God’s Spirit is at work wherever social concerns and human needs are responded to with authentic love and practical efforts. This is what identifies us as followers of Jesus Christ.
During this Labor Day week, let us rethink how much we believe that serving others and making sacrifices in their behalf is normal behavior for those who allow Jesus to be Lord in their life. May we deepen our commitment to laboring in God’s Kingdom business of loving and caring for the world through us. May we become more thoughtful and sincere in praying “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?
Indeed, the biblical prophets and Jesus’ himself, repeatedly challenge us to fully invest ourselves in God’s Kingdom business of bringing life, 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).
And in doing so, may we 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!
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 6, 2023
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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