[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fjesus-lord-of-our-labor":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fjesus-lord-of-our-labor-surround":67},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":50,"date":51,"description":18,"extension":52,"image":53,"meta":54,"minRead":55,"navigation":56,"path":57,"postType":58,"publication":59,"publicationUrl":53,"seo":60,"stem":61,"topics":62,"__hash__":66},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fjesus-lord-of-our-labor.md","Jesus, Lord of Our Labor",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Matthew","John","Colossians",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":46},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43],[16,17,18],"p",{},"Through the years, many artists have attempted to paint pictures of Jesus. Frankly, many of their portraits seem unrealistic and unappealing to me, especially the ones that picture the Lord as an other-worldly, haloed being who couldn't possibly understand ordinary life in today's world.",[16,20,21],{},"My favorite picture of Jesus is one my wife gave me a few years ago. I keep it hanging in a prominent place in my office where I can see it every day as I do my work. It's a pencil sketch of a Jewish carpenter holding a block of wood in one hand. With his other hand, he uses a plane to trim and shape the wood.",[16,23,24],{},"I like this picture because it portrays the Lord realistically—rugged, thoughtful, strong—the way someone would look if he grew up in a carpenter's home (Matthew 13:55). It also reminds me that the Lord is shaping my life each day, and that my daily task is to join his kingdom work and help to shape others' lives.",[16,26,27],{},"In a sense, all human endeavors are ennobled by the way God's Son experienced the rigors of a hard day's work. He was a king, but not an aloof royal ruler who basked in the soft luxuries of a palace. In a carpenter's home, Jesus probably developed calloused hands, sun-weathered skin, solid biceps, and a sharp eye for fine wood-grains, well-laid stone foundations, and accurate measurements. He created the universe, but he also understands what it's like to get up in the morning and go to work. He was there in the beginning, and through him all things were made (John 1:1-3); yet he also knows how it feels to turn a shapeless pile of lumber into the frame of a house, an ox-yoke, or a useful piece of furniture.",[16,29,30],{},"Not only was Jesus a worker himself; he was comfortable associating with others in their workplaces as well. He spent time on his disciples' fishing boats. He visited with Matthew at his tax-collector's booth. He told vivid parables about merchants, business managers, homemakers, and vineyard workers. He understood the world of the sower, the soldier, and the shepherd.",[16,32,33],{},"Each week, many of us spend one-third or more of our time on the job. Aren't you glad Jesus is with you in your place of employment? He's there with my wife, who is soon to be a Registered Nurse, as she works in a local hospital. He's there with my 18-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter as they wash dishes and serve tables in restaurants, and with my 13-year-old daughter who baby-sits and mows the neighbor's lawn. He was with me as a child when I worked for farmers, baling hay for $1.00 an hour. He's been with me in my work as a minister, a college professor, and now as an editor.",[16,35,36],{},"Stuart Briscoe tells about the time he asked a young woman what she did for a living. She replied, \"I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as a machine shop operator!\" Colossians 3:23 reminds us, \"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.\"",[16,38,39],{},"Artist Holman Hunt spent three years in the Holy Land where he sat on the roof of a house in Jerusalem and painted a portrait he called \"The Shadow of Death.\" It shows Jesus working in a carpenter's shop in Nazareth at the end of another work day. Jesus has put down his saw, and is stretching his weary muscles. As he stretches, the evening sunlight casts a dark shadow on the wall behind him. The shadow looks like a cross. The dark shade of his tool-rack resembles a horizontal bar on which his outstretched hands are crucified.",[16,41,42],{},"The Lord lived every day in the shadow of the cross.",[16,44,45],{},"And so must we.",{"title":47,"searchDepth":48,"depth":48,"links":49},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","1996-09-01","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fjesus-lord-of-our-labor","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fjesus-lord-of-our-labor",[63,64,65],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Discipleship","Y71hfd61tHs55EFIyhNPRFVJX5NxkgFz7G6YhV4W9yE",[68,73],{"title":69,"path":70,"stem":71,"description":72,"children":-1},"Is Your Worship Worthwhile?","\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-worship-worthwhile","articles\u002Fis-your-worship-worthwhile","Last December my wife and I attended a holiday concert at our daughter's high school. The choir and orchestra performed traditional selections from \"Deck the Halls\" to \"Joy to the World,\" and concluded with a rousing rendition of Handel's \"Hallelujah Chorus.\" It was powerful music with a powerful message—but my enjoyment deflated a bit when I read a disclaimer printed at the bottom of the program. It said: \"This presentation of traditional holiday music includes incidental religious content. This content does not constitute an endorsement by the school district of any religion or religious doctrine.\"",{"title":74,"path":75,"stem":76,"description":77,"children":-1},"Jesus Loves the Little Ones","\u002Farticles\u002Fjesus-loves-the-little-ones","articles\u002Fjesus-loves-the-little-ones","A seven-year-old named Jimmy moved into the house next to mine a few years ago. At times he was a nuisance. He phoned about five times a day, and often rang the doorbell. We'd find him standing at our front door with his hands and nose pressed against the glass."]