My dad is a hard-working man. He works 6 days a week. During his off-days, he’s always tinkering with something in the house—fixing the fan or cleaning something. Colleagues of mine who also know my dad have remarked that being industrious is a trait that runs in my family. Is diligence an inborn trait— are some people born lazy while others are naturally hard-working? Why do some people work hard?
In 1 Corinthians 15:10, the apostle Paul says, “I have worked harder than any of the other apostles.” It’s true. Paul worked very hard. We read about how hard he labored in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. So what motivated him? We read: “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favor on me—and not without results” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Despite Paul’s being a persecutor of the church, Jesus appeared to him and called him into His service. Paul’s awareness of God’s extraordinary special favor to him resulted in an extraordinary response. He recognized who he was meant to be—an apostle of Christ. This was all because of God’s grace—the undeserved expression of His kindness.
But Paul didn’t attempt to repay the divine grace shown to him with hard work, nor did he try to soothe his guilty conscience. He worked hard because he didn’t want the grace shown to him to go to waste. As Paul worked hard, he discovered this amazing reality: “Yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul’s words this way, “Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it” (The Message).
As recipients of His grace, may we work hard to make God’s grace known!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Joshua 2:1-24
More:
Read Ephesians 3:7-12 and Colossians 1:28-29 to discover the goal of the apostle Paul’s hard work.
Next:
What motivates you to work hard—reputation, man’s approval, or God’s grace? How can you better present God’s grace to others?
tom felten on February 28, 2012 at 8:41 am
Thanks for this inspiring message, Poh Fang. I thought of these verses Paul penned, “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). May God’s grace be revealed through the way we speak and work for Him!
mike wittmer on February 28, 2012 at 10:41 am
I think I would really like your father, Poh. There are few things worse than a lazy person whose complete lack of effort openly despises the grace of God. I may be showing my age, but the longer I live the more thankful I become for our parents who showed us how to work.