If there's an Internet signal, people will always have access to God's Word and for that I'm profoundly grateful for the technology and people who've made this access to life-giving words possible.
Many Christians understand the Bible to be a collection of stories without an overarching narrative.
One of the unique aspects of the Bible is that it is primarily a story illustrated by teaching and not primarily teaching illustrated by story.
I encounter many Christians who've been raised in the church but never realized that there's a cohesive storyline from Genesis to Revelation.
One reason why people find applying the Bible to work so difficult is that the world of Scriptures seems so distant from our modern world today. Many established realities we encounter daily, like non-profit and for-profit corporations, did not exist in the ancient world.
The fast paced nature of our technologically-driven world seems to create issues that would appear to be foreign to ancient civilization.
When we think about our work it deals with our motivations, our desires, our sense of security, purpose, and status. Our work deals with a whole host of relationships. Work impacts the flourishing of individuals, communities, and nations.
So much is wrapped up in our work and each book of the Bible points to Christ and the good news of what he's done that impacts the whole of our lives and the whole of our world. When our eyes are opened to see how each book of the Bible points us to the gospel, the relevance to our work and the need for this good news to enter into our work becomes increasingly evident.
When economic structures and policies allow people to have access to capital, it releases a host of productivity that could humanize many bringing a greater flourishing to our society to the glory of God.
Our work is connected to much larger structures and systems that can be influenced and changed to align with God's intention to bring order and fruitfulness into the world.
Economic and political structures that have a far sweeping impact on the lives of billions is not outside the purview of the gospel's redemptive influence.
When we think of our world today with all of its interconnectedness and complexities, the scope of gospel renewal includes systems and structures that are far beyond what we might consider day-to-day.
The gospel has brought a new identity in Christ that then allows our work to no longer be the source of our identity but the rightful expression of it.
When we try to find our sense of security, value, worth from our work, we'll find ourselves anxiety-ridden and burdened.
When people criticize our work, whether that work is a spreadsheet, a coffee, or our children, we take it very personally as if they were attacking us. This response shows how instead of taking criticism in ways that help us in our work, we become easily defensive and negative.
As image-bearers of God, human beings likewise create in ways that reflect our identity.
Our identity was bestowed upon us by God and when humanity rebelled against God, we were divorced from the source of our identity. In this vacuum, work can wrongfully become the source of our identity wreaking havoc on our lives and work. Work was never meant to carry the weight of our identity.
Because of the gospel, God is doing a new work, and he invites us to participate in this innovative work that affects the entirety of our world.
When God created the universe, this world beautifully and gloriously revealed his unfathomable being.
The gospel impacts the way we do our work in ways that hopefully brings a greater flourishing to our world.
The gospel moves us to see others as people created in God's image and that can have a profound impact on people's productivity and work satisfaction.
On the flip side, when we connect our work with a greater sense of purpose and calling beyond the paycheck, we begin to see the kind of flourishing that we were called to create.
The gospel changes how we view and work with others in a way that both humanizes our interactions with them and empowers them to work well.
We were created for a purpose and when our underlying assumptions don't reflect this deeper purpose, we begin to whither as human beings.
We may get a paycheck, but over time what we sense is the dying of our souls.
Follow AzQuotes on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Every day we present the best quotes! Improve yourself, find your inspiration, share with friends
or simply: