Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4
Scripture begins in a garden. Humanity walks with God and works the garden to cultivate it and care for the earth. Scripture also hints that our future is a return to a sort of garden. God intends to renew the earth and the heavens and bring humanity back to what it was like in the garden of Eden. With that comes vocation. Work is not a result of sin. There are hints in the scriptures that we will work in this future heaven and earth.
If work is not evil, and it is not going away, maybe we can learn to think of it differently than we often do. What if you had to do your job for the rest of eternity? How do you feel about that? Take a few moments to imagine what you would like to do if you had to do it forever. An interesting question, isn’t it? What does answering that question do to your perspective on vocation today? Deposited deep in the answer to these questions might be a hint about who God made you to be. After pondering that, ask yourself, “what can I do today to take one step closer to God’s design for me?”
By Aaron Bjorklund