Work, work, work

"Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'" (John 6.29) Even in Jesus day, people were judged by what they could produce. We get so caught up in that in our culture, where everything is measured by the standards of market productivity.
Yet, Jesus says the most important work one can do is to believe in "the one God sent," which of course, is Jesus! This word translated as "believe" in the original Greek of the New Testament is "pisteuo" which means to "put one's faith in, to entrust." Our being, our heart for Jesus, will always matter more than what we can do for Jesus. In fact, if we get it straight that our first "work" is really not work at all but simply opening our life to the limitless and infinitely loving Spirit of God, believing, trusting, nurturing our relationship with Jesus Christ, then we are liberated to do great works for Jesus. As Paul reminds us, "it is by grace we are saved, not by works."
Remember today that you are highly prized by God, not for what you can produce for him (or for the market economy) but because of who you are in Jesus Christ.