Nougat 9

How do we view our spiritual calling? Is it time to revisit our approach. Points to ponder as we reflect on today’s Holy Nougat

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” ‭‭

2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Work

Mental or physical activity done with a particular outcome in mind; a task (to be) undertaken

Ironically, the original Greek didn’t call Timothy to work in the literal sense, but to hasten himself (ie be diligent and fervent) about the work set before him.

So rather than get bogged down by semantics, let’s consider – how diligent or zealous are we about the task God has set before us? Perhaps even more importantly, we ought to ask ourselves, do we know what God has purposed for us in this season?

It may seem self evident or simple, but it is so easy to become distracted by the noise and clamor of life around us. And just as we are evaluated on our grasp of a subject in school, or the zeal with which we achieved the outcomes set in our place of employment (or not), we each have tasks that we ought to complete and we ought to hasten to them while it’s day.

Let’s consider Jesus in John 4 for example. In verses 1-3, we note that His task in Judea was done, so He departed for Galilee. One could understandably imagine that Jesus’ next task was in Galilee, but verse 4 says differently. It says ‘He must needs go through Samaria.’ I used to think it was the route home, until I realized that it was more about His divine appointment at the well with a woman who would influence an entire village to meet Jesus. And, lest we (or the disciples) misunderstood, in verse 34 Jesus says, ’my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work.’ Assignment (ie task) understood and in progress.

The woman, on recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, also understood her task. Verses 25-29 indicates that she verified her theory and ran (hastened) to share the Good News about Jesus. She even understood how to frame her message (verse 29), as an invitation and a rhetorical question – just enough to pique the interest that they would come see Jesus for themselves.

What then is our task? Who are we supposed to be impacted by, like Mary, or be impacting for Jesus? Are we doing the work set before us or skylarking? How many signs do we need to get that the end is near? Siblings in Christ, we cannot afford to be caught napping. Let’s hasten to the task God’s set before us in Christ Jesus.

—

May all we seek be found in Christ