I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
“The Most Unproductive Thing You Can Do”
May 05, 2018
We’ve come a long way in 20 days.
In the first 10 days, we sketched out a biblical narrative of work; then we saw five ways in which our work matters in light of that narrative; and over the past few days, we examined four ways we should do our work in light of those previous truths.
Today, we see one final way we should work: To work productively towards God’s agenda in this world, we must stay rooted to “the vine” by regularly communing with our Lord.
Jesus said that apart from him, “you can do nothing” of value to him and his kingdom-building purposes. In the words of author Matt Perman, “To live your life without God is the most unproductive thing you can do.”
If you want your work to be worship—a means of serving God rather than yourself—a true calling on your life—then you must prioritize regular time in the Word. It’s not enough to learn the truths we’ve explored in this devotional series one time. We must all be constantly renewing our minds—steeping ourselves in God’s Word in general and what the Word says about our work specifically.
Don’t give up. Press on! Continue to explore the richness of what the Word has to say about our work and how it contributes to God’s redemptive purposes for this world.
