Do you look forward to Monday morning? On Wednesday do you wish it was Friday? How do you view your work? Is it merely a responsibility to be fulfilled, or does it excite and motivate you? Step back for a minute.
God could have chosen any number of ways to reveal Himself and accomplish our salvation. Was there a godhead discussion in eternity where Father, Son, and Spirit weighed the options? Or was it all just intuitively obvious what was to be done? There would be a birth, thirty years of life, three of ministry, all ending in death, resurrection, and ascension back to the presence of the Father. The decision was made—we are not told how—that the Son was to come and spend a good part of his short life, six days a week, at a carpenter’s bench or on a construction site.
We can imagine Zachariah ben Yehuda, who lived on the next street, asking Him for two new window frames. Jesus would estimate the materials He would need and how long it would take and give Zach a fair price. We can see Him choosing the materials, laying out the work, and constructing the frames carefully but efficiently. Finally, with a proper pride in His work, He would install the two frames for Zach and receive his payment.
But why was Jesus born into the home of a carpenter and why did He Himself become a carpenter rather than just appearing in ancient Israel as a ready-made Messiah? Here are a few suggestions. You may think of others.
- By growing up in Joseph’s family, He would have experienced all of life—playing and going to school with the other boys, learning and working with His neighbors, socializing and interacting in a variety of circumstances, learning the carpenter’s trade from His father, laughing and crying with everyone else. His incarnation was not just physical; it was social as well. He became a fully dimensional man with all our characteristics and behaviors except those introduced by sin.
- Carpentry was a common trade, and practicing this trade in the town Jesus would have gained identification with the people and earned their respect. He would not be a strange figure coming out of the desert, but one of the people. As He worked in the shop or on the jobsite, He would have built relationships with the townspeople. In His human condition, He would have related as a boy and as a man with others. That is such a large part of our humanity, and it would have been a large part of His. He did not live in isolation, but in community with others.
- We can say, too, that Jesus’ work with His tools made our common work noble. He set His stamp of approval on our daily work. He honored our trades and professions. He demonstrated that work is something to be admired. If He had lived today, He may have been a programmer or an accountant or a truck driver. He dignified all God-approved trades and professions.
I’m guessing at these reasons, of course, but they do seem reasonable. I can ask how Jesus viewed His work, and I can also ask how I view mine. Do I see it as serving God in His world, as something noble, as God’s will for me during this part of my eternal life?
Prayer: Lord, help me to see my daily work as a large part of Your calling for me. Help me to give it my best and to influence those around me for good. Let me be a witness in my workplace, a light in the darkness. Let me present my daily work to You at the end of the day with a sense of satisfaction and the feeling that I have pleased You.
Author:
Lindsay Hislop was raised in southern Scotland and southern Ontario and now lives in the southern United States. He worked in the engineering field for 15 years (mostly in Canada) before pursuing an academic career. He has taught for over thirty years at Columbia International University. He also serves as an elder in his church, where he teaches and preaches regularly. He is married to a wonderful wife Pam and has two terrific children, Holly, who lives in Canada, and Doug, who lives in Columbia. His four grandchildren, Isaac, Madeline, Lindsay, and Dolan, are also pretty special. He likes doing carpentry and odd jobs around the house.
