the sermon this past weekend at my little congregation was about work.
naturally - it had the focus you might expect, talking about the 'Christian work ethic' how we should consider ourselves to work for God, not men, the Boss with the capital B instead of the boss with the lowercase b, so we should not grumble, or do a poor job, but be faithful and diligent -- and that whatever we find ourselves called into doing for a living, we can represent Christ as good workers, our lives being a witness to how He has performed and is performing a work in us.
but as those of you who know me by now you may expect, post's mind wanders and he doodles on his bulletin and makes what might be odd associations in his mind with the topic. i want to share some of that rambling with you and maybe give you something other than condemning this or that to think about today
so i was thinking of physics -- the speaker opened his teaching with the physical definition . .
the physical definition of work is a force dotted across a distance.
the calculation of the amount of work done involves an active differential of momentum ('a force') acting on a body causing a displacement.
notice that it involves something happening to a thing, and that thing being moved.
two interesting results fall out physically from this definition that i'd like to call attention to in spiritual terms.
how does this relate to our life as being found in Christ?
well, consider the work done on us by the Spirit of God. the Father has drawn us to Christ, separating us and calling us out of the world and from darkness, displacing us into the glorious light of His presence, from death into life. if we then return to the things that He brought us out of - in our hearts, our thinking or our actions, then no "work" is calculated, because the displacement is 0 over that interval.
what about path-independence? the preacher said, and it's very true - that with regard to the believer and his everyday vocation, 'what you do is not nearly as important as how you do it' ((see, post was paying attention to the sermon too! haha)) -- referring to scripture like Colossians 3:23 & Ephesians 6:7 -- plying your trade as though for God, not for men, with the attitude and character that reflects service to the Lord rather than an earthly 'boss' -- the heavenly Boss is your employer, no matter what your 'job' is. so is this sentiment an expression of 'path dependence' if we were to calculate spiritual 'work' ?
i'd love to hear your thoughts and comments, and however you may develop this concept more
naturally - it had the focus you might expect, talking about the 'Christian work ethic' how we should consider ourselves to work for God, not men, the Boss with the capital B instead of the boss with the lowercase b, so we should not grumble, or do a poor job, but be faithful and diligent -- and that whatever we find ourselves called into doing for a living, we can represent Christ as good workers, our lives being a witness to how He has performed and is performing a work in us.
but as those of you who know me by now you may expect, post's mind wanders and he doodles on his bulletin and makes what might be odd associations in his mind with the topic. i want to share some of that rambling with you and maybe give you something other than condemning this or that to think about today
so i was thinking of physics -- the speaker opened his teaching with the physical definition . .
the physical definition of work is a force dotted across a distance.
the calculation of the amount of work done involves an active differential of momentum ('a force') acting on a body causing a displacement.
notice that it involves something happening to a thing, and that thing being moved.
two interesting results fall out physically from this definition that i'd like to call attention to in spiritual terms.
- the work done is path-independent. it only matters how far the object is displaced from its original location; not the route it took to get there. if you move a couch upstairs, the work done is the same whether you take it outside and lift it up through a window, haul it right up the stairs, move it across the street first or take it apart and drop it bit by bi through a skylight and then reassemble it.
- if the displacement is zero, no work is done. that is, if the final location is the same as the starting location ((at least in the interval considered)) then the amount of physical work calculated is nil. if you move that couch back downstairs, no work has been accomplished with regard to the couch. also, if you go back home after you go to your job, you've done no work! ((haha!
))
how does this relate to our life as being found in Christ?
well, consider the work done on us by the Spirit of God. the Father has drawn us to Christ, separating us and calling us out of the world and from darkness, displacing us into the glorious light of His presence, from death into life. if we then return to the things that He brought us out of - in our hearts, our thinking or our actions, then no "work" is calculated, because the displacement is 0 over that interval.
what about path-independence? the preacher said, and it's very true - that with regard to the believer and his everyday vocation, 'what you do is not nearly as important as how you do it' ((see, post was paying attention to the sermon too! haha)) -- referring to scripture like Colossians 3:23 & Ephesians 6:7 -- plying your trade as though for God, not for men, with the attitude and character that reflects service to the Lord rather than an earthly 'boss' -- the heavenly Boss is your employer, no matter what your 'job' is. so is this sentiment an expression of 'path dependence' if we were to calculate spiritual 'work' ?
i'd love to hear your thoughts and comments, and however you may develop this concept more
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:5)
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 1:6)
(2 Corinthians 10:5)
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 1:6)
