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Work and Restoring God’s Image
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Salvation is more than a ticket to heaven. In the here and now, salvation is God’s way of reversing the fall. Salvation begins to restore the broken image of God in us right now, perhaps long before we enter heaven or Christ returns.
Dr. Lennox shared several passages to this end. Romans 8:29 talks about how God has pre-arranged for us to become like Jesus. Dr. Lennox suggests that this “becoming conformed to the image of God’s Son” is something that is happening now. We are already becoming more and more like Jesus while we are still on earth.
To support this idea, he turns next to 2 Corinthians 3:18: “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord.” As we walk with the Lord, we become more and more like Jesus. Colossians 3:10 similarly says that we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
These verses certainly apply to our fight against sin. We no longer have to be spiritual losers. God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to change. Now, by the power of the Spirit, we can actually do the good we want to do (Rom. 8:1-4).
But our deliverance is not only a spiritual matter. Certainly, our relationship with God is the most important relationship that is healed. But our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world is then similarly transformed. And this healing should demonstrate itself in our work as well.
The curse of the fall was not that we should be doomed to work. The sorrow and curse of the fall was that we should be doomed to experience work as drudgery – frustrating and painful. The joy and blessing of conversion is not that we are freed from working, but that we are free to experience work as the expression of all that is most beautiful and magnificent about us.”
David Wright
- God and Work
We are healed in our relationship with God. Perhaps having once worked for ourselves, we now return to working for God’s glory. We may still like to win – God created us with a drive to excel and overcome challenges. But winning is now best defined as winning for God. There is now a new person doing the work, someone renewed in relationship with God. - Work and Ourselves
We now work with self-assurance. We work not for ourselves but for God. We work hard not out of fear but doing everything to God’s glory in the name of Christ (Col. 3:17). We are now “people of assurance.” We know that God will provide. God will direct us. We need not stress because God is watching over us (Matt. 6:25-34). - Work and Others
Were we hard to work with or for? That should ease now if we are following Christ. Imagine if all our co-workers were typified by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23)! We become peacemakers. We now care about the effect of our actions on others. - Work and the World
“Transformed people transform the workplace and society.” With our relationship with God restored, we once again become God’s representatives to the world. The tools God has given us – things like creativity, innovativeness, and intelligence – return to being God’s tools, and we use them to better the world.
Our healing will never be absolute on this earth. It seems inevitable that we will fail from time to time. At the same time, God’s people should not be pessimistic. We should not assume failure on any specific day or in any particular situation. The Spirit stands ready with power and wisdom. All we need do is avail ourselves of him!