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t the Renovare.org website, Richard Foster writes about formation through experience, noting, “The most foundational of these character-formation experiences is found in our work. Work places us into the stream of divine action. We are “subcreators,” as J. R. R. Tolkien reminds us. In saying this, I am not referring to sharing our faith at work or praying throughout our work. Both of these are good, to be sure; but I am referring to the sacredness of the work itself. As you and I care for our daily tasks, we are glorifying God in the work itself.”
Much of our lives are spent in what we describe as work. Often our approach to work is to think of it as a curse that we must endure until we arrive at the golden age of retirement. But work is no curse. Adam was working long before the fall. God’s work in creating the universe wasn’t a reflection of a curse. Work is the production of value—it’s creative. And almost every sort of work has some redemptive quality, some redemptive value. Our work becomes toil only when we lose our connection with God. Work became toil for Adam when he was banished from the garden. But being part of the new humanity (that is, the church) means that we are experiencing an end of the long exile–an experience that we’ll know fully when the Lord returns. Therefore, our attitude toward work should be drastically different from others. It becomes what Foster describes as a sacrament—a time for us to be with Jesus, honoring Him, bragging on Him, glorifying Him. As subcreators, the work of our minds and hands is pregnant with possibilities—our creation will either honor God or further highlight the horror of the fall. So, please, let’s stop categorizing our lives into spiritual and secular. We need to erase those categories and just see life. As new humans aligned with the new Adam we are filled with God’s spirit in every segment of our lives. And given that we do spend so much of our time engaged in our work, it becomes a primary training ground, turf upon which we are tested, and a fundamental, ongoing experience in which the Spirit develops our virtues. Enjoy your work as you grow in grace!
