The Mission
The further along in school I progressed, the more relevant the classwork became to the learning process. Early on in school, and even through high school in too many cases, the assigned work seemed like busywork to keep us occupied rather than productive for learning. The more schooling I had the more frustrating busywork became. By the time I hit my doctoral work, busywork was a thing of the past. But up until then, even some of my masters work felt like busywork.
I did not mind working hard to learn. But, I did mind if the assignments felt like time-fillers. What is the purpose of this? How will this help me in the future? The answers were crucial if I was going to be motivated on the assignment. Don’t get me wrong…I did every assignment given to me. But, I gave greater effort to those things that helped me grow and learn.
Every parent has heard: “Why do I have to learn algebra? I will never use this in real life.” We need to have an answer for our teenagers if we expect them to work. Busywork at any level is frustrating and breeds complacency in effort.
Sometimes, what seems like busywork is actually laying a foundation for the learning process in the future. Do you remember “wax-on, wax-off” from The Karate Kid? Just because we don’t understand the value of the process, doesn’t mean it lacks value. This is true in schoolwork and is very true in our spiritual lives.
If God is using something in our lives to grow us, what seems like busywork will actually be working out for our good.
In 1 John 3:16, God gives us something that reveals His purpose for us. His mission that He has planned for our lives is to model Christ. Just as Jesus laid down His life for us, we should be laying down our lives for others. Part of the process is that we learn how to give of ourselves, to the point of even giving our lives, for each other.
What does this teach us? It teaches us to appreciate God’s love for us displayed through Christ. It teaches us how to love others more than ourselves. It teaches us that this life is not about us but about bringing glory to God through loving and serving others. It teaches us how to let Christ be the model as we walk as He walked.
Busywork can never describe the act of blessing others. That is the core of our calling to follow Jesus. “He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16, CSB).
We may not always get the “why” behind what all we are called to do to serve. But, we can have the confidence that God has made our mission clear…laying down our lives for others.
(Questions? Comments? jeff.perkins@mbclife.org.)