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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Oftentimes we can get our identity wrapped up in different aspects of our life. It could be a hobby or a talent, our family, or even a worthy cause. But, for many of us, we derive our identity from where we spend much of our time. If you are like me, this is time spent at work. It is spent thinking about our job titles, colleagues, companies, bosses, and subordinates. We spend our time thinking about new horizons at work, strategies, and breakthroughs. But our time is also spent in disappointments. Maybe a promotion or title not received or even the loss of a job. In all these things, it is easy to forget that for those of us who believe in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are on a mission—the Great Commission set forth by Jesus himself in Matthew 28: 19-20a:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Jesus is commanding we declare the gospel—the good news! Now, I realize we are likely not going to baptize our coworkers, but we can look to this verse as a foundational calling and a promise. In the final sentence of verse 20, Jesus says, and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
We are living on a mission, and we often forget we carry this missional living to our workplaces. In this mission, we can remember our identity belongs to God.
Armed with this thinking, you may be asking yourself what discipleship looks like at work. In another segment, I talked about what I have personally deemed as Faith at Work 1.0. Don’t over complicate your thinking in this matter but show up each day knowing Jesus is with you always, to the end of the age. He is with you and asking you to become more like him each day with how you reflect his light and glory to those around you!
Matthew 5:14-16 exhorts: You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Shine your light. Let those around you see your good works and give glory to God! For some of us this is easy, but maybe you are in a stifling work environment. Maybe you feel heaviness each day as you get ready for work. You are putting forth your very best effort to do good work, but no one sees it.
Proverbs 15:3 reminds us that the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. God sees your good works and will use them for his glory, especially when you are least expecting it!
What are some practical ways to live missionally at work? And, more practically, what are “good works”? Perhaps it is as simple as being the person who does not engage in gossip. Instead, you are the opposite, always seeking the good in others and lifting them up with a positive word. Maybe you help someone who has a heavy workload or even a heavy burden. As a woman, how can you support other women at work? Are there moms balancing kids back in school with work? How can you creatively encourage them? I find the most practical mission we can be on at the office is to reflect the love of Christ to others we are around. Make them ask why you are filled with joy and have a spring in your step. Make them ask why you are so encouraged during a difficult trial at work. It will give you a chance to let them know you always have Jesus by your side!
Back to our identity. It is easy to revert to forgetting whose mission we are on. I like to keep the verse Colossians 3:23-24 front and center in my workspace.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.
Front and center in my workspace means this verse travels with me. It is saved on my tech. It is in my paper notebook and on a sticky note on my keyboard. It is ever present to remind me my eyes should be fixed heavenward to work how God wants me to—being obedient to his work in pointing people to the goodness of Jesus! And my reward is his inheritance. It is heaven!
One verse is helpful to keep me on track, but staying rooted in this missional identity requires more than just Colossians 3:23! It does, however, provide a clue. You guessed it—God’s Word! Remaining on mission requires that we are in God’s Word consistently. If you are like me, sometimes creating a habit seems insurmountable. Maybe you don’t know where to start. Grab a Bible reading plan or join a study of the Word. Here at the Christian Working Woman, we offer many opportunities to be in God’s Word.
But the second part of my journey in staying rooted in my missional identity is to surround myself with a community of other women who are on the same mission! If you can’t find your community at work, I would encourage you to seek out other women at church who also work. Maybe this has proven difficult. It was for me, and God has been good to provide me community with other working women who desire to be in God’s Word and learn more and more about how to share their faith at work.
Prayer also helps me stay rooted in missional living at work. I not only pray for my spiritual walk and for encouraging community, but I pray for my day before I start my work. I think about my colleagues or situations at work and pray over them. I pray when I am feeling particularly persecuted by others or in my disappointments. I pray when I am feeling a distance from remaining on mission.
God’s Word, being in community and in prayer. Take a moment and think about how you are doing in all three of these areas. Without each one of these three actions, you will feel depleted and may find staying on mission—God’s great commission—at work, difficult. I have recently started to reflect on these three areas of my life monthly. Setting specific goals helps me draw closer to the Lord and all he is calling me to do at work.
Returning to identity, we go to work and are part of an organization where we may be at the top or in the middle—maybe you are just starting out or have decided to be a strong contributor to a team but not to manage others. Whatever your role is at work, you have one authority according to Colossians 3:23—working for the Lord. This doesn’t mean we can ignore the man or woman who is our boss, but it does orient our thinking.
In addition to being called to missional living, God has some big things to say about our identity in this mission! While many things about our jobs are not permanent at all, those promises and titles bestowed on us from God are permanent. They do not change.
2 Timothy 2:15 states: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
We are approved workers who are on a mission to rightly handle the Word of God. What I love about this verse is that it claims us as workers and names our work—handling God’s Word!
2 Corinthians 5:20 states: We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We are ambassadors! The dictionary defines ambassador as “an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.” Do you think of government and negotiations and importance when you hear this like I do? Or maybe you feel the weight of being a representative of a belief system or perhaps representing an issue that could impact your nation? The fact is the Bible tells us repeatedly this world is not our home. Philippians 3:20 reminds us our citizenship is in heaven. If we are ambassadors for our country. This means being ambassadors of heaven. And the sovereign ruler of our country is Jesus! You and I are officials of heaven.
This thought both excites and frightens me. It gives me a flutter and a spark but also feels the weight. I find myself in awe of this work God has given to me. He reminds me that by grace I have been saved and raised up with Jesus Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). I am paraphrasing but having this beautiful promise of being seated in a heavenly place with Jesus helps my worldly identity melt away. I know I have a true partner in all my work. Not only has Jesus called me to missional living, but he has given me an identity seated with him in heaven, and he calls me his friend.
Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:15).
My job is an important part of my life. It helps me to provide for my family and allows me to give to ministries I love through the financial rewards God has given to me. My job has provided me with an outlet to shine my God-given strengths in connecting people and leading. It allows me to be an encourager. My job has also been the greatest form of sanctification in my life, and it consistently reminds me of my true calling to missional living. Setbacks, disappointments, joys, and accomplishments they have all brought me closer to God.
The closer I have come to God, the more I have realized he has me exactly where I need to be.
If you are struggling to feel like your job matters or maybe feeling like your work doesn’t matter, remember whose you are and what you are called to do! Our identity in being sent on this mission as a disciple does not change, and you have a country to represent—heaven! I love being an ambassador, and I pray that you are encouraged in your work!