Hope. Life. These words are full of meaning for daily work, humanity, and Jesus.
Work, from the beginning, was always about life. When God made humanity in his image, he did so as a worker himself who had brought life from chaos. His first words to humanity were to continue his work, cultivating creation to be the fruitful, life-giving world God intended.
When humanity rebelled against their Creator, the relationship between work and life changed. Work was still meant to bring life, but now it was harder, less fruitful, and had the possibility of producing death and decay.
Now, the life of the world feels at risk. Hope for our work to bring life is lost.
This is why Jesus made his purpose clear in John 6:51 when he said he came to offer himself “for the life of the world.” What did he mean by life? He makes another statement about life just a few chapters later in John 10:10 that helps us understand what he meant. He came to give “life to the full.” The fullness of life is what God intended from the beginning and what he promises in the end.
Flourishing, shalom, the reconciliation of all things, bringing heaven to earth, redemption, the new Jerusalem, and thriving - what do they all have in common? Other than being words typically used in the faith and work movement, they all describe “life to the full.”
In Christ, there is hope for the world and there is hope for work to bring life to the world.
Those in Christ follow Jesus’ lead in offering their lives “for the life of the world” so that every life can experience the kind of life Jesus came to bring, “life to the full.”
When they do so, it gives society the most compelling vision and purpose for work imaginable.
So, we prepare people to serve God and others in their daily work so that workplaces and cities are transformed.
We do that by convening Christian workers for relationships, cultivating in them a renewed imagination for work, and catalyzing them toward redemptive action in their workplace, industry, profession, or city.
We do that by convening Christian workers for relationships, cultivating in them a renewed imagination for work, and catalyzing them toward redemptive action in their workplace, industry, profession, or city.
