Do, as if unto the Lord...

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

It is amazing to me the road that my family has taken through the last seven years. From the time we were married, my beautiful wife and I have felt that God was calling our family to camp. After some bad advice and a few off-kilter decisions, we ended up away from that calling. We served in our church, she volunteered, and I worked while she stayed home with the kids. Years passed in what seemed like a never-ending cycle of work without getting anywhere, particularly closer to the dream that God had put on my heart.

One day, I was reading the Bible and stumbled upon Colossians 3:23-24 and it hit me pretty hard. Now, I’m not someone that is into the “excellence” movement of God as I think that tends towards pride. I did realize that we are to do EVERYTHING as if unto the Lord. While at work, I would look at a job I was doing and say, “Alright, if Jesus happened by, would I want Him to see this.” I’ll tell you what, that opened my eyes!

I still struggle with getting things right or having the time/energy/motivation to do things in this mindset. There are many days when it is beyond me to even get to the place that I could honestly say I’d be willing to let Jesus see the work I was doing. I am not skilled enough, strong enough, or smart enough to complete things at the level which will impress God. He can always point to the trees and animals (and YOU) and say, “Really? You think that’s impressive? Look at what I did.”

Here’s the beauty, He rewards the effort not the result. Now, we can’t work our way into heaven. No amount of excellence is good enough to get us there, folks. It is only by the cross that we have gained entrance to His kingdom. That said, I did notice something that I believe God does; He tested my work in the little things so that he can begin to trust me in the bigger things. It was when I started going to work with the “Do, as if unto Him…” attitude that I began to see growth in my work, my future, and myself. It was also then that the opportunity came to start working in my dream job. What a blessing!

Right now, I write this with our summer staff in mind. Guys, do everything you do as if you’re doing it for Him. You’ve got to study or buckle down and write a 1500 page paper? Do it for Him! You’ve got to go wash dishes or sell turkey calls? Do it for Him! I’d be surprised if you didn’t see growth in your life. I’d be shocked if, after honestly doing things as if for Him, you didn’t see that work being blessed. Besides that, God deserves our best! Think of what He did for you for a moment and try to tell me otherwise.

I don’t want anyone to think that I do things just to get blessed or praised or whatever. I do what is good because God has inspired me to. The things I do that aren’t good or fall short are because I took my eyes off that inspiration. This week, I challenge you to find the inspiration that God gives us every day and act upon it. Do, seek, love, serve as if unto Him… and see what He does with it.

By Dan Gilson