Foundations of Faith
MAN (III)
Try to picture the scene:A garden with beautiful trees; the trees bearing delicious fruit; the garden filled with animals, birds, insects, and other living creatures of all sizes, shapes, colors, and sounds; and a beautiful river flowing up out of and through the garden. And now one additional creature is put into the garden-a male human being named Adam, meaning “man” (Gen. 2:8-10,19). What now? What was Adam to do in that garden? His Creator did not leave Adam guessing. We read that “the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it…. And … the LORD God … brought [the animals and the birds] unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof” (Gen. 2:15,19). God gave Adam work to do caring for His creation. These were not at all unpleasant tasks for Adam. It was work, though not hard work. This work was a blessing to Adam from the LORD. No doubt it gave to Adam a sense of purpose and satisfaction to be able to give of himself and do these things for the LORD and His creation.
In the Book of Revelation we have a similar picture given to us of heaven:a pure river, the tree of life bearing a different kind of fruit each month, and the inhabitants of heaven serving God (Rev. 22:1-3). The point of all this is to stress the fact that work is not a curse. It is not God’s punishment of man for sinning. Work and service were instituted by God before man sinned and will no doubt continue throughout eternity as one of God’s blessings to mankind. In connection with our work, the Apostle Paul exhorts us, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men, … for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23,24). Young people, do you see the application? Do not follow the popular trend of despising work and personal responsibility so that you might devote yourselves to securing “happiness.” Otherwise, you will, like the Prodigal Son, go out full and come back empty. Don’t look for shortcuts to wealth and success (see Prov. 28:22). Be content with starting at the bottom, if necessary, and working your way up to better jobs through hard work, dependability, and a good attitude. Do not be quick to quit your job because you don’t get along well with your boss; God may be allowing this trial to show you your pride and ego (1 Pet. 2:18-20). Remember:even in that disagreeable job with low wages and a difficult boss, your real “Boss” is the Lord Jesus Christ. Serve Him well and see how He will prosper you as He did Joseph some 4,000 years ago (Gen. 39:1-6).
Running the Race
HOW CAN I SERVE THE LORD?
In the previous article we suggested ways of serving the Lord by being a dependable, honest, careful, diligent worker in our daily employment. This would apply whether we are talking about a paid job, household chores, or homework for school. Now let us explore additional ways that you-as young people-can serve the Lord. We shall do this by considering the activities and service of men and women of the Bible.
“Speak, LORD, for thy servant heareth” (1 Sam. 3:9). Most of our readers have learned from childhood who spoke these famous words. The child Samuel was given an urgent message from the LORD to deliver to his master Eli, the High Priest of Israel. This is an example of “prophesying,” meaning, literally, “delivering a message on behalf of another.” Mary Magdalene was another one who delivered an important message from the Lord, namely telling the disciples that their Lord was risen and alive (John 20:17, 18). If you, dear young reader, are walking close to the Lord, He may ask you to serve Him in this way. He may “lay on your heart” or suggest to your mind words of encouragement, comfort, warning, or gospel from the Bible to deliver to an acquaintance.
“Peradventure there are 45 righteous: wilt Thou destroy all the city for 45?” (Gen. 18:28). Do you remember who made this appeal to the LORD? It was Abraham pleading for the city of Sodom. Anna and Epaphras served the Lord with their prayers (Luke 2:37; Col. 4:12). And have you ever noticed how long the Apostle Paul’s daily prayer list must have been (Rom. 1:9; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:4; Col. 1:9; 1 Thess. 1:2)? If you do not know any other way to serve the Lord, surely you can serve Him by praying often for your family, relatives, friends, neighbors, schoolmates, fellow believers, heads of government, people in the news, and so forth (Eph. 6:18; 1 Tim. 2:1-4).
“He read in their ears all the words of the Book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD” (2 Chron. 34:30). Was this one of the elderly priests or prophets who read God’s Word to the people? No it was young King Josiah who was in his twenties (34:1,8). Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him the holy Scriptures when he was a young boy (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15); young Timothy himself was encouraged by the Apostle Paul to “do the work of an evangelist” (4:5). What a broad field of service is open to all of us-young people included-in teaching children as well as older ones the Scriptures and the way of salvation!
“David [when he was a youth] took a harp and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed” (1 Sam. 16:23; 17:33). “Caleb stilled the people” and encouraged the people by saying, “The LORD is with us” (Num. 13:30; 14:9). Manoah’s wife encouraged him when he was afraid (Judg. 13:23). King Solomon administered wise counsel (1 Ki. 3:5-28). In a world of depressed, distressed, fearful, lonely, and confused people, what opportunities lie open to the Christian who knows the One who can wonderfully meet those needs.
Noah built the ark, the Levites erected and transported the tabernacle, the widow fed Elijah, the woman of Shunem housed Elisha, Dorcas made clothing for the poor, and Rahab protected the spies. What can you do for the Lord?
Assignment 1: Write out three verses in Job 29 that speak of ways Job helped people in need.