on work...

I read this morning in the Celtic Daily Prayer book a challenge about letting our 'work' go. Some of us find that difficult. But 'if it is Christ, it will remain'...

It reminded me of 1 Corinthians, where Paul says that our lives and works will be judged with fire - some will go up in smoke: our own plans, projects and ideas - some will remain: the work of Jesus through us.

This is quite hard to grasp, especially for people involved with Pioneering roles, where they often feel that if they stopped what they were doing, then it really would fall apart. For many, this would probably be true - but is it because the work is not of God? ... hmm, it's a challenging question.

How much of what we do is our own plans and dreams? Would Jesus have us do something different? Or be different as the case may be.

This isn't so much a question of legacy, because what is successful in the eyes of Jesus may go unseen to those around us. There are many unsung heroes of our faith.

If we really feel that what we're doing would fall apart if we walked away, and we feel the pressure of trying to keep things together and ticking over, then we need also to be 'strong and courageous' - to ask the big questions and have courage to drop things - else we burn out on our own strength. Having said that, there are particular things that Jesus is up to, whereby a handful of people hear the voice of the shepherd, and then they go walking to follow. A different question arises about whether its right to stay with the flock or whether its best to follow the shepherd who calls.

I don't really have a conclusion about all this. I just wanted to share it as it's something thats been going round in my head. When things look great - are we willing to give glory to God, or give them up and walk on? When things don't look good at all - do we struggle to keep it going, or do we persevere to follow the call?

The thing this hinges on is obedience, not how things look, not our perceived responsibilities, not the pressure we feel or the joy of success. 

We're not here to impress God, but to please him.