Working In The Presence Of Perfection
Working In The Presence Of Perfection
Working In The Presence Of Perfection
Working In The Presence Of Perfection
We are spiritual beings made to live and work in the presence of God. We are designed to communicate with the living God — to look up to where our help comes from all day, every day, for our life and at our work.
Lifting their gaze from the desk, an incredibly successful executive paused and thought, “I can’t believe I am here with Him. I do not even deserve to be in His presence; I hope He does not ask me to leave. I am so unworthy to be this close to Him, I hope He does not send me away. I wonder if I am even thinking the right thing? Will what I am doing please Him?
I sure hope He sees me, but I can barely stand being near Him. He is so perfect, always wise, always caring for others… oh I so want Him to know that I desire to please him, and to give my life to care for others like He does. I want to be directed by Him more than I want anything in life, more than all my other relationships, more than all my leadership opportunities, more than the gifts and resources He has given me
I am consumed with passion to learn from Him, to be directed by His words, and to dwell where He dwells forever. While in fear and awe, I am filled with unspeakable joy and gratitude to remain near Him and respond with my life to please Him.”
We Are Spiritual Beings
Who talks like this? Who even thinks like this? Probably not many of us, but every day — in the presence of the One who made us, saves us, sustains us, and keeps a place in eternity for us — we have the opportunity to assume this posture and have similar words on our lips.
We are spiritual beings made to live and work in the presence of God. We are designed to communicate with the living God — to look up to where our help comes from (Psalm 121:1-2) all day, every day, for our life and at our work.
We Receive Mercy To Work
The Psalms are great examples of how to communicate with God. Notice the words of the psalmist from approximately three thousand years ago and imagine singing them with your coworkers!
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud.” – Psalm 123:1-4
It’s not normal or comfortable for us to plead for mercy, but it is our proper position before God. Eugene Peterson’s book "A Long Obedience In The Same Direction," covers the Psalms of Ascent and he noted this about our need to ask for mercy.
“Mercy, God, mercy!": the prayer is not an attempt to get God to do what he is unwilling otherwise to do, but a reaching out to what we know that he does do, an expressed longing to receive what God is doing in and for us in Jesus Christ. In obedience we pray "Mercy!" instead of "Give us what we want." We pray "Mercy!" and not "Reward us for our goodness so our neighbors will acknowledge our superiority." We pray "Mercy! and not "Punish us for our badness so we will feel better." We pray "Mercy!" and not "Be nice to us because we have been such good people."
We live under the mercy. God does not treat us as alien others, lining us up so that he can evaluate our competence or our usefulness or our worth. He rules, guides, commands, loves us as children whose destinies he carries in his heart.”
We are loved more than we can think or imagine and our destiny is secure. God is using everything to guide us to the place He has prepared for us. Our awareness of our need for mercy is as much a grace of God as any other gifts we’ve received.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 2:4-6
Being aware of our need for mercy, and knowing we have received mercy, positions us perfectly for our work. The need for God’s mercy humbles us. The reception of God’s mercy and forgiveness softens our hearts, making us grateful and receptive to God’s guidance.
We Receive Guidance To Work
God gives perfect guidance for everything we face in life and work — everything!
No, God does not tell exactly where to locate our business, or which inventory management system will cause the least errors, or even which hire would lead to a stronger team. This is because God is not telling us how to beat worldly systems to gain a personal advantage. However, God’s word does tell us how to make choices and which choices to prioritize.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33
This is the guidance we need. While it appears to be against what the world, business, and other systems are telling us, it is perfect wisdom for us. God is not interested in our advancement in the world's current systems and hierarchies, He is interested in meeting the world's deepest needs — He is interested in people's hearts.
Dallas Willard believed that every human's greatest need was spiritual transformation. In his book Renovation of The Heart, he describes ‘the way of Jesus’ and how the primary emphasis should not be on improving systems. “This impotence of ‘systems’ is a main reason why Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today, which always strongly convey some elements of a human system. They were, instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life by simply, fully living in the kingdom with him.”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” – John 18:36
We must remember our most important work is not primarily about the here and now. Yes, we are here to make people's lives better, but our focus should not exclusively be their temporary success.
Our best work may meet a temporary need, but it would be a tragedy to meet someone’s temporary need in a way that lessens their awareness and dependence on their eternal needs. We must see our clients and coworkers and all of those we interact with as spiritual beings in human bodies, caring for them like they will live forever.
Jesus was continuously telling his followers about the kingdom to come and how to live for the kingdom to come — and not not live for the temporary world. Jesus instructed His followers to love and serve people in the world for the purpose of gathering worshipers and making disciples. Jesus said,
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:35-38
Working and serving the spiritual needs of others is urgent — much more urgent than many of the agendas that hijack our attention.
Jesus came to love us as the Father loved him, and Jesus commissioned us to love others the way He loved us.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” – John 15:9-14
We are more than servants and we are more than friends. We are more than human beings in bodies, we are spirits that last forever. As spiritual beings in the presence of a holy and perfect God, let’s continue to beg for mercy and be grateful we have fully received it. Let’s continue to seek God’s guidance for our life and work and rejoice that we have been given perfect commands.
Lifting their gaze from the desk, an incredibly successful executive paused and thought, “I can’t believe I am here with Him. I do not even deserve to be in His presence; I hope He does not ask me to leave. I am so unworthy to be this close to Him, I hope He does not send me away. I wonder if I am even thinking the right thing? Will what I am doing please Him?
I sure hope He sees me, but I can barely stand being near Him. He is so perfect, always wise, always caring for others… oh I so want Him to know that I desire to please him, and to give my life to care for others like He does. I want to be directed by Him more than I want anything in life, more than all my other relationships, more than all my leadership opportunities, more than the gifts and resources He has given me
I am consumed with passion to learn from Him, to be directed by His words, and to dwell where He dwells forever. While in fear and awe, I am filled with unspeakable joy and gratitude to remain near Him and respond with my life to please Him.”
We Are Spiritual Beings
Who talks like this? Who even thinks like this? Probably not many of us, but every day — in the presence of the One who made us, saves us, sustains us, and keeps a place in eternity for us — we have the opportunity to assume this posture and have similar words on our lips.
We are spiritual beings made to live and work in the presence of God. We are designed to communicate with the living God — to look up to where our help comes from (Psalm 121:1-2) all day, every day, for our life and at our work.
We Receive Mercy To Work
The Psalms are great examples of how to communicate with God. Notice the words of the psalmist from approximately three thousand years ago and imagine singing them with your coworkers!
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud.” – Psalm 123:1-4
It’s not normal or comfortable for us to plead for mercy, but it is our proper position before God. Eugene Peterson’s book "A Long Obedience In The Same Direction," covers the Psalms of Ascent and he noted this about our need to ask for mercy.
“Mercy, God, mercy!": the prayer is not an attempt to get God to do what he is unwilling otherwise to do, but a reaching out to what we know that he does do, an expressed longing to receive what God is doing in and for us in Jesus Christ. In obedience we pray "Mercy!" instead of "Give us what we want." We pray "Mercy!" and not "Reward us for our goodness so our neighbors will acknowledge our superiority." We pray "Mercy! and not "Punish us for our badness so we will feel better." We pray "Mercy!" and not "Be nice to us because we have been such good people."
We live under the mercy. God does not treat us as alien others, lining us up so that he can evaluate our competence or our usefulness or our worth. He rules, guides, commands, loves us as children whose destinies he carries in his heart.”
We are loved more than we can think or imagine and our destiny is secure. God is using everything to guide us to the place He has prepared for us. Our awareness of our need for mercy is as much a grace of God as any other gifts we’ve received.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 2:4-6
Being aware of our need for mercy, and knowing we have received mercy, positions us perfectly for our work. The need for God’s mercy humbles us. The reception of God’s mercy and forgiveness softens our hearts, making us grateful and receptive to God’s guidance.
We Receive Guidance To Work
God gives perfect guidance for everything we face in life and work — everything!
No, God does not tell exactly where to locate our business, or which inventory management system will cause the least errors, or even which hire would lead to a stronger team. This is because God is not telling us how to beat worldly systems to gain a personal advantage. However, God’s word does tell us how to make choices and which choices to prioritize.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33
This is the guidance we need. While it appears to be against what the world, business, and other systems are telling us, it is perfect wisdom for us. God is not interested in our advancement in the world's current systems and hierarchies, He is interested in meeting the world's deepest needs — He is interested in people's hearts.
Dallas Willard believed that every human's greatest need was spiritual transformation. In his book Renovation of The Heart, he describes ‘the way of Jesus’ and how the primary emphasis should not be on improving systems. “This impotence of ‘systems’ is a main reason why Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today, which always strongly convey some elements of a human system. They were, instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life by simply, fully living in the kingdom with him.”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” – John 18:36
We must remember our most important work is not primarily about the here and now. Yes, we are here to make people's lives better, but our focus should not exclusively be their temporary success.
Our best work may meet a temporary need, but it would be a tragedy to meet someone’s temporary need in a way that lessens their awareness and dependence on their eternal needs. We must see our clients and coworkers and all of those we interact with as spiritual beings in human bodies, caring for them like they will live forever.
Jesus was continuously telling his followers about the kingdom to come and how to live for the kingdom to come — and not not live for the temporary world. Jesus instructed His followers to love and serve people in the world for the purpose of gathering worshipers and making disciples. Jesus said,
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:35-38
Working and serving the spiritual needs of others is urgent — much more urgent than many of the agendas that hijack our attention.
Jesus came to love us as the Father loved him, and Jesus commissioned us to love others the way He loved us.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” – John 15:9-14
We are more than servants and we are more than friends. We are more than human beings in bodies, we are spirits that last forever. As spiritual beings in the presence of a holy and perfect God, let’s continue to beg for mercy and be grateful we have fully received it. Let’s continue to seek God’s guidance for our life and work and rejoice that we have been given perfect commands.