Every Good G S ift
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Entrepreneur
All work matters to God By Jordan Raynor |www.biblicalleadership.com | image credit: istock
“Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the broth- I think God is pointing us back to Genesis to remind us that er of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?” (Mark 6:3a). he is a God who creates things for others—just like a carpenter. I think he’s saying, “Your work that others call ‘secuToday’s verse contains one of the only details about Jesus’s lar’ is crucial to my kingdom-building project.” life between the ages of 12 and 30 when he began his public ministry. For approximately eighty percent of his adult life, And of course, Jesus reaffirmed this when he called his disJesus wasn’t preaching. He was working as a carpenter. ciples. Given that his ministry was about preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (see Matthew 22:14), you might exGiven Jesus’s ultimate purpose, this truth should stop us in pect Jesus to enlist the help of Pharisees and other religious our tracks. professionals. But instead, he called fishermen and tax collectors. God could have placed Jesus in a priestly household like John the Baptist or the home of a Pharisee like Paul. But in- Over and over again, Jesus vividly reminded us that all work stead, God chose for Jesus to grow up in the household of a matters to God. carpenter, doing work that looked very similar to the work you and I do today. Why? Of course, we can’t be sure, but here’s my guess: I think Jesus’s vocation is meant to remind us that even after the Fall, work is still inherently good. TT 162 | July 26th - August 1st | 2022
