In the beginning God created heaven and earth… and work! 

Scripture mentions work more than 800 times. Surely God has an interest and purpose in it.

To begin, I was uncomfortable with the use of the sacred/secular terminology because it is a false dichotomy which the title seemed to support. I soon realized Jordan knew readers would be comfortable with these terms. Then as he teaches about them he draws the two together and erases the dichotomy.

Raynor surveys the broad outline of the whole Gospel in the Bible with the familiar 4 Act Model.

1.   Creation – God created the world and revealed His plan. He gave mankind the assignment/commission to continue the creation process he started.

2.   The Fall – When sin came into the world it disrupted everything. Life became hard and dysfunctional.

“The curse broke much more than just our relationship with God . It broke everything God deemed good in Act 1 — human beings, the nonhuman world, and the world of work.” p.46

3.   Redemption – God sent his son Jesus to redeem His creation and restore it. This leads to the fulfillment of God’s plan for the Kingdom of God where God and man will dwell eternally.

4.   Renewal – The process has begun. It leads to a new heaven and new earth where God and His creation will enjoy each other forever.

 “Jesus said that his kingdom will be implemented, at least in part, through you and me.” p.55

Our work has meaning because it gives God pleasure and because it is part of His plan for the Kingdom of God. Raynor’s examination of the Kingdom of God opened some new lines of thought for me.

The Abridged vs Unabridged Gospel

Raynor addresses a number of half-truths commonly found in biblical teaching and then contrasts that with the full truth.

While he dismantles many half-truths in our understanding (Doctrine) he goes on to provide the full truth where the fullness of God’s plans are revealed.

Your work has intrinsic value because God has called you to a dual vocation: the Great AND First Commissions. “But when we turn the Great Commission into the only commission, we can easily neglect these other aspects of the kingdom.” p.24

God intends to restore all of creation, not just humankind. According to Jesus, “ the kingdom of God is at hand ” to transform the world from top to bottom — sacred and secular, spiritual and material (Mark 1:15, ESV) p.51.

Our work matters because of the relationship between the Kingdom of God and work. Jordan makes a deep dive into God’s intentions and “end times.” I found new insights about heaven and the kingdom of God in this study.

Jordan makes the case, “the significance of secular work depends on the value of creation, and the value of creation depends on its final destiny.” p.75. Because God values his creation enough to save it, our creations must also have intrinsic value to God. This brings us to a discussion of end times and its relationship to our present-day work.

Our Future Hope

You will see work in a new light and make new connections in this section – at least I did. 

It’s not just the work of God’s hands that will be physically present in the Eternal Heaven on Earth. It is some of the work of human hands as well.

“What specific work will I be doing for eternity? Let me offer three guesses based on clues we find throughout God’s Word.

• “First, we may do the same work we’re doing now. 
• “Second, we may finish the work we leave unfinished in this life.
• “Lastly, we may do the work we wanted to do in this life but couldn’t.”Lastly, we may do the work we wanted to do in this life but couldn’t.”

“Your work has intrinsic value because God promises that any work done “in the Lord is not in vain.”

 Resources

The book is well documented with extensive footnotes and bibliography. Readers are also given a link to a free downloadable workbook and study guide.

The book integrates the work of many highly respected Biblical scholars to reveal the working out of God’s plan. There is a companion set of Sunday School lessons with videos and study questions for those who would like to delve deeper in a small group setting. 

Conclusion

I highly recommend this book for those interested in the theology of work, the Kingdom of God, or God’s plan for every believer.

Olympic runner Eric Liddell famously said, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” I think we can adapt this declaration to work. “God made man for work. And when I work for His sake, I feel His pleasure.”

If you are more of a visual learner you might enjoy this 5 minute excerpt from a keynote presentation of Raynor’s teaching. Check out the preview: https://www.jordanraynor.com/ever-dreaded-heaven 

By Phill Sandahl