Easter Sunday and Monday Work

Scripture — Ephesians 1:17-20 (NRSV)

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.

Devotion

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. Today is Monday. Chances are you’ll be back at work (unless you’re a preacher, in which case I hope you’re taking the day off!). Easter and work. Is there any overlap? Does Easter make a difference to your work?

At first glance, the answer to the question, “Does Easter have anything to do with work?” might appear to be “No.” Unless you work for a church, Easter appears to have little to do with ordinary employment. It is a holiday, after all, a day for worship, gathering with family and friends, feasting, and other kinds of holiday fun. Not much work here.

But, if we think beyond our Easter celebrations to the reality being celebrated, Easter may turn out to be more relevant to work than we first imagined. If the resurrection of Jesus was the culmination of God’s plan to redeem all things, then surely it has considerable relevance to work. If the resurrection was a world-transforming demonstration of God’s redeeming power, then it must have something to say to what we do with the majority of our waking hours on this earth.

Consider, for example, Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1. There, he prays that the readers of his letter might know the “immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power for us who believe” (1:19). This power was seen, above all, when God “raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand” (1:20). The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates and illustrates the power of God, not just in general, but “for us who believe” (1:19).

How do we experience this resurrection power? We might think first of our experience of salvation. Or perhaps we remember some amazing experience on a mission trip or as we prayed for someone to be healed. We readily and rightly associate God’s power with events that are saturated with Christian meaning. But, if we take Scripture seriously, we must also recognize that God cares about all of life, including our work. In fact, God created us with work as our primary purpose (see Genesis 1-2). Thus, we have every reason to believe that God’s power will be made known to us in the context of our daily work.

I saw evidence of this truth time and again through the experience of those for whom I was a pastor. They shared with me how God made a difference in seemingly impossible situations. As they prayed for colleagues, bosses, subordinates, customers, and others, they were sometimes astounded by what God did. Of course, God’s power is still God’s power, and God doesn’t always do what we wish. But if we are open, aware, and seeking, God will make divine power known in every part of life, including our daily work.

So, does Easter have anything to do with your work? Yes, it does. Thanks be to God!

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God’s Grand Plan: A Theological Vision (Ephesians 1:1–3:21).