WAITING WHILE WORKING
Second of three devotions in Come, Jesus Series
1 John 3:2-3: “Dear friends, now we are children of God,
and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we will see
Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope
in him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
(Emphasis mine).
WOW!
That’s really cool! “When He
appears, we shall be like him…” I cling to that promise.
But first, there’s work to do. Believers in Jesus hold fast to their faith
when life deals us lemons. (Lemons are
lost causes, duds). Believers keep on
going day after day keeping watch and overcome
life’s lemons.
If watching for the Lord’s return is
evidence of our faith, then let’s put our faith to work. Work is the perfect thing to distract us from
focusing on waiting. James 2:17 says,
“faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Work is the evidence of our faith in action.
God’s allowing us to contribute to the
world is a gift. He’s a giver and we’re
created in His image. Whatever we’re
called to do gives us joy and satisfaction.
We appreciate adding something good to the world. Working toward goals is more rewarding than
if they came easily.
We actually crave opportunities to work
for something and succeed!
If Jesus laid down His life for us, how
can we serve others? Ten year old Cassie
saw a six year old playing at recess. Rajah was dressed in a tee shirt. There was ice on the ground! His sneakers had holes. Cassie gave him her sweater.
“Dear children, let us not love with
words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18). See the lesson linked below, to learn more
what John teaches. Cassie’s actions spurred
the people in her elementary school to action.
Soon, kids like Rajah were fed and clothed.
Cassie used her lemons to make
lemonade!
Jesus said in Luke 12:37a, “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes,
will find them watching.” (King
James Version of the Bible). Another
word for “blessed” as used in this verse, is “happy.” Happy is the person who is found watching
when his master comes.
We can wait patiently for Jesus’ return
because there is so much work to do to contribute good to the world.
Take Home Nugget
Waiting
while working is a happy way to live. Who can do nothing, anyway? Our minds zoom when we try to sleep. We can’t sit still. We learn new things every day. Working while we wait gives our lives purpose!
Waiting is boring; working fills it with happiness.
Adapted from “Watching
and Working” devotion from “Harvest Ministries” by Rev. Greg Laurie. www.Harvest.org.
September 13, 2015.
J.D. Griffith
Written
for http://www.Biblestudyforkids.com
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