Busy Work or Kingdom Work?

The Difference is Small - It's Six Inches Between the Ears

Colossians 4:17 says, “Say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’”

What was this man’s ministry? Biblically, nobody knows. According to tradition, he became a bishop/pastor later on in his life, but there is little to no documentation to back this up. The point I am making is this: Archippus worked in the background, received no glamour or limelight, and is generally forgotten about by even the most ardent of Bible scholars.

But one day we will know him. One day we will meet him when we, like Archippus, walk the golden streets of Heaven. We will worship with him at the throne of our Lord Jesus Christ and we, just like faithful Archippus, will receive our reward. WHAT he did is nowhere nearly as important as the fact THAT he did it. He wasn’t seeking any sort of attention or notoriety. He served for an audience of one: his Lord and Savior, who is worthy of all of our blood, sweat, and tears.

I write this today because of what is going on here at the church. Our brotherhood is here working and serving, as they have been each Tuesday for some time now. What they are doing today is something that 95 percent of people who walk into our facilities will never see or notice. Their job today, among other things, is to paint the trim that goes between the ceiling tiles in one of our Sunday School classes. It is a work that will go unnoticed and, therefore, unappreciated, by so many. Not because people don’t care or that they’re rude, but simply because it is a relatively out of the way and it’s a room that most people spend no time in.

So why do it? If nobody sees it, why bother? It’s a lot like washing the roof of your car. Nobody sees it, but if you don’t do it, the job is not complete. It speaks to your character, work ethic, and how much care you take in your stuff. Not to mention what happens when it rains and all the junk from the roof of your car ends up running down the sides… yuck! The bottom line: just because it’s out of sight and maybe out of mind, the work is not useless nor pointless. The Sunday School room functioned just fine before the paint job. There was no issue in its functionality at all. Most people will walk by that room without glancing inside of it and never notice what has been done. But the ones who spend their Sundays in that room will notice. And they will be enormously grateful for how much brighter their room now appears to be.

But these men are not even doing this work just to please the men and women in that room. Their work is a labor of love and service to their King, Jesus Christ. Seeking no applause or recognition, they show up and they work. And they work HARD. As a result of their labors today, the room is brighter, a classroom of people will be happier, and most importantly, God is glorified.

What work are you doing in your life that glorifies God? It doesn’t matter what it is. You could think of it as busy work - meaningless, never seen work that will have no impact on anybody. Or you could think of it as Kingdom work - asking yourself how you can do this task for the glory of God.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Colossians 3:17