MM: The Quality of the Work

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

~Hebrews 6:10~

Having the ability, having the tools and being given the job does not say anything about the work that you can actually do. There is a difference between being new at a job and having done the work for some time. The man who has recently started working in a new career taking on a new project has some mercy. There is an understanding that it will take some time for the beginner to learn the new trade and get use to the tools he is using. I remember when I first started working in construction; there is freshness to it and a desire to want to learn it. I wanted to get better at the type of work and prove myself to everyone that I was capable of the job given to me. It was as though I was extra driven to do a really good job and show everyone. But no matter how hard I could try at the beginning it was very difficult to match the quality of someone who had done the same type of work for years and years. This takes me to my next point about the man who had done the work for years and become comfortable with the work and the final product produced. This type of experience can go one or two ways. The first way is that the man still has a great drive to produce a quality product and is excited to see things completed. This man has found a way to overcome the “comfortableness” of the job and ultimately has not gotten bored with the work. This man truly enjoys what he does and it shows with high quality work. The second man is the man who has done the work for years, but has lost the quality of the work over time. He has become comfortable with producing an “alright” product and ultimately has lost the drive to move forward. He knows the work, he knows what it takes, but he has no real desire left to produce and produce well. So I have to ask, what does this have to do with our walk with Christ? What does this scenario have to do with our relationship with Him that could last years and years?

I remember when I first really felt the power of the Holy Spirit come upon me. It was the most powerful and life-changing thing I have ever felt in my life. It felt as though I was losing everything, but in reality I was gaining everything. Sound familiar “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Luke 9:24. These are powerful, powerful words that were spoken by Christ himself and they are so true. After that point I had a passion for Christ like I had never had before in my life. I was like the new worker that was learning a new trade, I wanted to learn as much as I could and I wanted everyone to know about my results. The fire was intense and everyone around me could see it and feel it. My pursuit for Christ was of great quality and included reading the Bible, attending Church classes and talking about the subject with friends. This was a time of changing my habits to get more in line with Christ and getting out of my old ways. It included finding desires that God would have for me rather than what the world would have for me. And finally, adjusting the dial on what I allowed to influence me and how much I let it affect me. It was truly a time of high quality pursuit for Christ.

How do I maintain this walk?

How do I keep things interesting and inviting?

How do I maintain my walk with Christ at this level?

How do I become a Maintenance Man?!

I had to ask myself these questions and more. How could I keep myself from becoming the man that had done the work for years and years and lost the desire for it? I know for myself and for a lot of men, this is one of the biggest challenges. I am still young in the faith myself, so in reality I will face this “quality” issue for years to come. I will face the challenges of the Enemy, the temptations of the world and whatever life tries to throw at me.

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Christ has showed me some amazing ways to stay faithful and the ‘Maintenance Man’ series will continue with in depth ideas in the next post.

---Experience---

---Journaling---

---Accountability---

---Desire---

Share some ways you maintain a quality walk with Christ.