August 12, 2013
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PART THREE
WORKING IN THE KINGDOM
‘The father [or mother] of a righteous man has great joy…’ Proverbs 23:24 NIV
The hardest work is sometimes the most overlooked work. A husband came home from work one day and the house was an absolute mess. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, dirty dishes filled the sink, the kids were crying, the beds were unmade, the bathroom smelled badly and the TV set was blaring. When he asked his wife what was going on, she replied, ‘You know how you ask me every night what I did all day? Well, today I didn’t do it.’ If you’re a stay-at-home mum or dad, God considers your work to be important. It’s more important to the future than just about any other profession – because you’re determining the quality of the next generation. Martin Luther said, ‘What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in Heaven for our Lord.’ One day God will say, ‘Well done,’ to parents who cared for children – bathing them, feeding them, cleaning up after them – when they were tired and thought nobody was looking. Somebody is looking. Somebody is keeping track. It is worth it! You are the one who makes your work significant – not the other way round. When you discover the gifts God has given you and the passions He has placed within you, and put them to work in the service of values you deeply believe in – you are ‘working for God’ in the truest sense. So each day ask God to make your work go well. And try to identify the larger picture in your work that makes it a ‘calling’. Bill & Debby Gass
Comments (4)
I served as a single parent for seven years with five children in the home and worked as my own boss during school hours also. Not to be a perfectionist, but an orderly house and children presentable in school (with homework finished and on time) is no mean feat, believe me!
@quest4god@revelife - You handled quite a job and I am sure you did very well. Organization and cooperation! I hope you see the fruit of your love and labor today.
I’ll certainly be glad when these comment boxes are working correctly. I was unable to tag you for this comment. Hope you see it anyway!Thank you for your prayers and well-wishes! As a parent, I am learning to be patient and wait for the manifestation of the work of God in my children’s lives. Not all of them are currently following the things they were taught at home, but I do trust that as their faith experience seems to have been true, that their choices in life will soon come into accord with God’s word for them.
@quest4god@revelife - I stand in agreement with you for your kids, “that their choices in life will soon come into accord with God’s word for them”. Same goes for me, especially my daughter and her husband. I am the youngest of 8 and my mother’s prayer was, “I pray that all my children will be saved…I may not see it, but i know that God is faithful”. My brother, who is three years older than me, is not saved. Two years ago he had a major heart attack and was gone, but paramedics got him back. He calls me everyday and there are days I talk to him, but he just plain refuses the grace God is offering. It always amazes me how children from the same parents can be so different. My mother had family altar every morning after breakfast. She did her part in training us in the way that we should go. But God …..