Intersect: office work

INTERSECT (Where the Bible Meets Life) is a regular column of ONE Magazine featuring Dr. Garnett Reid, a member of the Bible faculty at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Email Garnett greid@fwbbc.edu

The sign in the Sinai desert might have read:

Construction Project: The Tabernacle of the LORD

Contractors: Bezaleel and Aholiab

Scheduled for Completion May, 1445 B.C.

God chose these two skilled artisans—“laymen” we’d call them—to build one of the most important structures in history: the tabernacle in the wilderness. Here God would symbolically reveal His presence among His people. Chapters 31-40 of Exodus give us the details of their story.

These men were filled with the Spirit of God (31:3; 35:31).

By doing this, He equipped them to carry out His work. The Spirit’s filling of Bezaleel and Aholiab was for very practical, hands-on, tasks: design, construction, and craftsmanship in carpentry, metal-working, and weaving. Whether you work with hard hats, hard drives, hardware, house-wares or house repairs—whether you are a navigator or service “Navigators”—ask God to fill you with His Spirit today as you serve Him through your work.

Bezaleel and Aholiab were also skilled in the things of God (31:3-4; 35:31-33, 35; 36:1-2; 38:23).

Their artistry as craftsmen was just as much God’s work as the priests’ offering of sacrifices! After all, God Himself commissioned the project and selected them to complete it (31:6). When He enlists us to do His will, He furnishes us all we need to do the job.

Yet our equipment is worthless unless we are willed to the work of God (25:2; 35:5, 21, 22, 29; 36:2). These men and their helpers carried out the task because their hearts were “stirred.” They were willing to obey the Lord.

Laymen and women are not only the backbone of the church, they are also God’s hands and feet to do His will. A pastor may equip them, but all the saints “do the work of ministry” so Christ’s body grows into His likeness (Ephesians 4:12, 15-16). John Piper reminds us “the vast majority of Christians are meant to live in the world and work among unbelievers. This is their ‘office,’ their ‘calling,’ as Luther would say. . . .

"The burning question for most Christians should be: How can my life count for the glory of God in my secular vocation?”

For starters, try to discern and respond to God’s presence today at work. Do your best on the job and relate to your co-workers with a joyful spirit—then tell them why! Care about their needs, and in a loving spirit, testify to them of the Gospel that changed your life. As you live out your faith from day to day, eagerly involve yourself in your local church.

Whatever your work, Christian, it is God who calls you and equips you. Do it for His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17).