Busy work or Good works

 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph. 2:10)

 This is something that I've been considering lately; it is a dual-sided question in my mind: how often do we do things for God simply to stay busy, rather than actually fulfilling the call that He has placed upon us?  

 A friend of mine recently asked me this question and it's been bouncing around in my brain and burning a hole in my heart since: "If you were to stand before judgment today, would Christ be pleased with how you have accomplished the purpose He had for you to do?"

Can I answer that question with a resounding yes? 

After being asked the question, I sat down to examine what are the purposes that God has called me to accomplish? 

I've known since I was 12 that I was called to ministry of some kind. 

I've known since I was 19 that I was to be a father to the fatherless. 

I've known since I was 20 that I am called to write for Him. 

And I've known for the past year that He was calling me to preach the Gospel. 

The hard task, beyond struggling with busy work versus His good works, is figuring out where these four callings intersect- or maybe figuring out WHEN they will all intersect. There's a quote that I've used throughout my life that is particularly poignant in this instance (it's actually on the top of this blog page): "The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." (Frederick Buechner) 

But back to the question at hand: figuring out whether the works that I throw myself into are indeed the good works that God has prepared for me to do or whether I am just trying to stay busy so that I can say that I am doing something for the Kingdom. 

I look at myself and see some good things done for the Kingdom, things that line up well with these things that I have been called to do. But none of them are finished, none are accomplished fully. 

I just wonder sometimes whether if I were to die today, if my Lord would say, "Welllllllllllll, you did some good things. You gave it the ol' college try, but you didn't quite accomplish all of the things that I needed you to do."

It's not a salvation issue, I know, but it is a discipleship issue. Am I figuring out and then doing the things that He has really called me to do? And if I don't finish them, what then? 

 

For you, my friends and readers: are you accomplishing the good works that God has called you to do? Or are you just piling things on your plate to appear to be busy for the Lord? 

There will be times when God has definitely called you to be busy, but there will be others where He has called you to a time of rest and rejuvenation. Don't give in to the opportunity to busy yourself outside of God's timing! If He has called you to rest, put aside the desire to fill your plate with all kinds of works just to be doing something for the Kingdom. 

 You were called for good works that He's already prepared, not for busy work. Go accomplish things for the Kingdom!