You Want Your Hard Work to Mean Something

I woke up to snow in Lander, Wyoming, which continued throughout the day until we had nearly 10 inches. It is the end of March, and this is life in the Rocky Mountains –in like a lion, out like a lion.

My mom and I drove through all that snow to Ace Hardware, where we picked up a gallon of Valspar’s “mushroom risotto”, so we could paint the bathroom. “We need a brush for cutting in,” I said. We then discussed the merits of taping or not taping. I assured her I was good at cutting in, and we didn’t need tape.

So I painted the bathroom all afternoon, and I took that thin-edged brush all along the edges of the tile, up against the shower wall, and next to the vanity mirror. Slowly and carefully –pretending I was Chip Foose’s steady-handed stripe painter. And while I painted I thought about detail work.

Later that night, my cousin put on his boots and went outside. Mom came in bragging that Tim had shoveled the driveway and then cleared a path all the way to the dumpster, so she could get to it. Then he grabbed the giant squeegee and cleared all the liquid off the driveway. He did a fantastic job.

There’s a little comment made about Jesus in Mark 7:37 (ESV), after they see Jesus heal a man.

He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

That word “well”, in the original Greek language, means: beautifully, finely, excellently.

I think we see a glimpse of Jesus’ glory every time we see people take pains to do things well on this earth. There is some impression of who God is in that meticulous attention to detail. It doesn’t matter what the activity is -shoveling or painting, teaching or bagging groceries. It’s the excellence that stands out as something unique and wonderful.

“People were overwhelmed with amazement,” Mark tells us about Jesus.

Think through what you’ll do today –what defines excellence in the activities you’ll undertake? Who will see what you do, and how do you think their knowledge of God could change if they see you do your work well?