Reflection and Awe Lent Series - Working For the Lord

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. –Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Lent is a time when we refocus on God as we ready ourselves to celebrate the most incredible story of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. It reminds us that what we do here in the temporal will fade away and that only the eternal things truly matter.

Colossians 3:23-24 reminds us to focus on the Lord as our true source of motivation. Nothing else will provide satisfaction and reward like what the Lord has in store for those who faithfully serve Him with a sincere heart. 

Over and over in the Scripture, we are called to realign, refocus, and renew our thinking. Why is that? Well, simply because we, as human beings fighting our flesh, adrift from the Lord’s best for us. Often, the drift is not intentional, but it still happens, right? 

That’s what Paul is saying here to the church in Colossae. He is reminding them that as new creations in Christ, they no longer are merely representations of themselves, serving their own flesh and its desires, but they are ambassadors of Heaven, on assignment and mission for their Father and for His Kingdom. 

But let’s get real; it’s so much easier said than done. It’s easy to quote the Bible as if working for the Lord and not for human masters … it is the Lord I am serving, and so much harder to live that reality out. 

The thoughts come to mind: I get what you are saying, but you don’t know my situation.

And you know, you’re right, we don’t know what’s happening in one another’s lives. But even in the most challenging of circumstances, the Word of the Lord remains true. 

When we operate from this perspective, knowing that we are ultimately serving the Lord and not man, it releases us from much of the tension that we may face on earth. We do not work hard to please those around us but to honor the Lord. 

We are ambassadors and representatives of God in our places of work and our community. We carry the stamp of citizenship and family name with us wherever we go and in front of whoever we encounter. How we work, our enthusiasm, our integrity, and our heart for others should be a window for the world to glimpse what the kingdom of God is like.

We are responsible for working, serving, and operating in a way that honors our Father in heaven. Who knows? Perhaps an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus will arise when others see and question why we work as we do. 

Spend some time in reflection, pondering how you can more visibly serve the Lord through your actions in your environment. Let this Easter mark the season of change in you—showing a watching world what it looks like to serve the resurrected king!