I absolutely LOVE my job as a high school principal in a Christian School. I’m also often reminded that God’s grace is sufficient for whatever the day may hold. Grace at Work by Bryan Chapell is a great read that helps keep a person’s heart and mind focused on what the Lord is working in and through us as He uses our work to help shape us. I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…
- In every vocation, we have the ability to take the image of God into the work that we do and, in doing so, help people understand the goodness of who God is, the care that he has for us, and the diverse professions he has created for the care of his world and its people. p. 15
- Genesis tells us that people were created in God’s image before he assigned them the task of working and keeping the garden. Why is this important? It is important because God is saying, “I’ m not determining whether you’re an image bearer based upon what you accomplish.” The reason we value the unborn and the infirm is that they are still image bearers of God, regardless of what they do. What they have done or can do is not the basis of their value. p. 21
- When we begin to recognize that work is not evil but is actually something that gives our days purpose and our lives a sense of worth, then we begin to view our labor in a very different way. We discover that work is dignifying and doing nothing is dehumanizing. Nothing is more wearying to the soul than no work at all. p. 25
- You have the ability to take the image of God into the work that you do, and in doing so help people understand the goodness of who God is, the care that he has for us, and the diverse professions he has created for our sake. p. 32
- When we consider the diversity of tasks and talents God gives to his people, we should be awed by the variety and vastness of his care. We serve a great God who has given so many people so many dignified things to do! Our work leads us to worship when we understand the grace it is and the goodness it bestows. p. 35
- God is calling you to a profession. His name is on you. Profess him in all you do. Honor him, and he will use your work for his purposes. How he will use you is beyond human prediction, but that he will honor himself in your work is his divine promise for all whose vocation is pursued for his name’s sake. p. 52
- Living with integrity is meant to rescue us from uncertainty. p. 63
- The point is to show others Christ’s character and care. As we bear his suffering and reflect his nature, we say to the world, “I trust my Savior so much that I will give myself with integrity to his purposes. When I fall, he’ll pick me up and forgive me. And I’ll keep on living for him, because he gave himself to secure eternal good for me.” p. 70
- God also intends to give us zeal for our work—whether it be dirty, difficult, or mere drudgery— because it brings glory to him. Of course, simply saying that our jobs can bring glory to God doesn’t make it obvious how this can really be true. There is often a disconnect between what we perceive as God’s glory and many of our tasks. Even the most celebrated jobs have their sewer features. No one likes cleaning up messes, doing inventory, calming volatile bosses, filling out expense reports, or addressing angry constituents. How can such jobs bring God glory? The answer is not so much in the nature of the job but in the purpose of the person who does it. p. 111
- Our work is not so much ennobled by the tasks we do or the skills we exercise, as by the purpose God accomplishes through us. The nineteenth-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins explained, “To lift up hands in prayer gives God glory, but a man with a dungfork in his hand or a woman with a slop pail gives him glory, too. He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean that they should.” p. 113
- As image bearers of our Creator, we are to reflect God’s glory, but we are also to reproduce it. p. 115
- Continued s glory becomes real and apparent to others by the way our labors extend his rule and reputation. As our products and practices honor God, more and more people are able to experience the effects of his character and care. p. 115
- Whether we fulfill God’s purposes by doing what brings earthly acclaim or enduring what fulfills heaven’s ends, we further God’s glory and bring the good he intends for our neighbor. p. 120
- God does not call all Christians to leave their profession to become missionaries, but he does give all Christians a missionary calling in their profession. Work and witness are intertwined in God’s purpose of taking his glory to every corner, closet, community, company, and nation of the world. All people in all professions are the object of his mission, and as we work among them, we are at work for him in the task of multiplying those who recognize, profess, and participate in his glory. p. 126
- The ways we honestly and conscientiously do our work, as well as our willingness to witness to coworkers, bring God glory, but so does the work itself. By our labors, our communities thrive, lives are vitalized, earth’s resources are stewarded for good, families are blessed, cultures advance, and faith is made possible and available for all whose lives flourish through the touch of God’s grace dispensed by those working “as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23). By such work others see our good deeds and are made able to give glory to our Father in heaven (Matt. 5: 16). p. 130
- The original glory of God’s creation will not be restored until Christ’s return. That means not all of the difficulty we experience is due to supervisors, coworkers, and competitors making evil choices. The weeds and thorns of God’s curse upon creation that invade contemporary workspaces are all the complexities and complications of a world that abandoned God’s rule long ago. p. 133
- The spiritual priorities we pursue to nurture our children in Christ’s love actually help protect us from the spiritual dangers of selfish, irresponsible, or work-addicted lives. p. 184
- When we work with integrity, we reflect God’s integrity and righteousness. When we work with care for our craft and care for those who work with us, we demonstrate God’s care. p. 194