Reading
“[Jesus] went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.”
Mark 3:13-15
Reflection
I don’t know about you, but I have spent the majority of my life “working for God”. What do I mean by that? I mean that I spent most of my childhood trying to be the good girl that God wanted me to be, followed by young adulthood where I felt like I had to do all these things for God because they were the right thing to do.
Fast forward to absorbing a few key teachings by Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, and I have a new appreciation for what it means to live a life of working “with God” instead of “for God”.
“With” and “for” sound similar enough, right? But when it comes down to it, there’s a huge difference between working alongside someone or doing work for someone. In the former, you work together to accomplish a shared goal; in the latter, you strive in your own ability to do something on behalf of someone else. And it can look a lot like earning that person’s approval.
What I love about this passage in Mark is that Jesus called his disciples, not to work for him, but to be with him. After spending time together, he then sent them out with his power and authority to continue the work that He had already begun—proclaiming the good news.
Our identity is rooted in our belonging to Christ and spending time with Him. When we work from an identity grounded in Him, then anything that we do (that isn’t immoral or unethical) can be done for the glory of God.
Invitation
Spend some time with God reflecting on your work-life integration. Are there places where you are striving to build or maintain an identity? Is the time you spend on certain activities out of alignment with your values? How can you work “with God”, even when the tasks are ordinary and mundane?
I invite you to end your quiet time with this prayer:
Holy and loving God, help me to remember that my identity is grounded in belonging to you, not in my work or other earthly status symbols. Reveal to me the work that you are already doing—show me where I can participate with you. Amen.
