Maybe it shocks you to think of working in heaven. It’s unconscionable. It doesn’t sit well. “I am on the cusp of my retirement…and my deathbed…you mean I have to keep going?!”
Or, maybe, this is not new, and it does not give you pause. You simply begrudgingly ponder: “Why does it matter that a distant, future version of work exists in paradise? It can’t change the present.”
Or can it?
Yes, this future version of work is a grace to you in the present. God uses hints of the future constantly through the Bible. We tend to focus on the cryptically coded stories trying to decipher the future (which isn’t the point by the way). What we should see is God empowering his people by reassuring them. This is why Jesus gives John a vision of the end times in Revelation. Not to panic, but to empower. He gives his people hope, he gives them peace, he gives them clarity.
Yes, now you deal with brokenness, sin, and the curse placed on work, but in paradise, your work will always be whole, life-giving, and meaningful. Jesus is making all things new, and he gives us a glimpse of that. Imagine having a day at work in which you don’t have to deal with office gossip. What if you could execute a plan without technology failing you. Enjoy the thought of creating beautiful content without the fear of unfair criticism. No more backstabbing, impossible deadlines, or coworker retaliation. Every team member pulling their weight, clients being a joy to talk with, and leaders giving clear direction.
It’s work, and it’s so much more because it is redeemed. It is full of peace. It is embedded with life.
And this makes sense because not only does the Bible foreshadow perfect work at the end of the story, but it also depicts perfect work in the beginning.
In Genesis, God designs, creates, and empowers man to work. Before sin enters the story, man is joyfully called to work. God proclaims, “Be fruitful and multiple and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over [everything I just created on this earth].” (Gen 1:28). And if there was any doubt: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Gen. 2:15).
Some might even artfully translate Eden as the place of pleasure…so God put Adam in the place of pleasure to work.
This was his plan from the beginning—to create men and women in his image, empowering them to work, calling them to rule over all of God’s creation.
Work is not the fall. Work is not the curse. Work is not an afterthought. It is central to God’s story. So, central he tells us at the very beginning, and reminds us at the very end.
Don’t run from it. Don’t hide from it. Engage with God in it. He made you for it.
[originally conceived 09/24]