Our job description on earth

I used to believe there was no urgency to our tasks here on earth, but a verse in John seems to say otherwise.

The idea that we have all the time or no need to start on time may not be entirely accurate.

Yes, I do not suggest that we should be in a hurry to do anything, but we should not be complacent either. We should take things seriously, knowing we may have to translate out of this body someday, probably for other tasks elsewhere.

John 9:4 says, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work (NLT).”

Jesus gave this reply when the disciples asked him whose fault a blind man was born that way. Jesus told them that it wasn’t anyone's fault but that his situation serves as an occasion for God to display his power. Then he went on immediately to talk about ‘working while it is day.’

I believe Jesus wanted his disciples to see that a lot had to be done and that there were many blind and deaf people out there who needed healing as well, so they had to be quick to work while he was still with them.

If verse 4 means ‘the time is coming when we won’t be able to work’, verse 5 gives us more explanation.

Verse 5 begins with a “BUT,” and we know what a BUT means in a sentence.

So, in verse 5, Jesus says, “But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

This suggests that as long as he was present with them, the “night” described in verse 4—when no one can work—had not yet come in that context of his mission.

Believers today are the LIGHT of the world (Matthew 5.14), and because we are the light of the world, that night (where we cannot work, John 9.4) can also NEVER come.

In other words, verse 4b is pending as long as we are in the world.

This means that there is no NIGHT while we are in the world. Therefore, we MUST ALWAYS be working. There is no stopping, resting, or retreat, and there is no end. We were made to work the Father’s works, and the night will only come when we leave the world.

In summary, as long as we are in the world, we are SUPPOSED to constantly be engaged in doing the works of the Father, ALWAYS. This gives us our job description on earth. It is first and foremost to DO THE WORK of the Kingdom of God — Preaching, healing, teaching, etc...

So stop looking for meaning in any other earthly achievements. Your achievements and preoccupations, destiny, purpose, etc., are to do the works of the Father. Instead of looking for what else to engage yourself with at any point in time, settle it in your heart that at any given time, we are to be doing the work of the Kingdom — EVERY TIME.

When you wake up in the morning and ask yourself what to do for the day, the answer is always the same: The work of the Kingdom.

And if you think this idea sounds monotonous, no, it isn’t. Humans are created to work. Our design is such that we must be actively engaged in doing something.

My friend told me a few days ago about a man who was transferred from his department in an institution to another department where he does nothing daily, yet his salary came in constantly. This has been going on for years, and all these years, the man has been lamenting. He says he can’t sit idle daily. He wants to work!

As a freelancer, I sometimes get frustrated being indoors most of my week, especially when there isn’t much work to do. I get tired and long to get busy always.

I’m saying we are designed always to work or be engaged in something, or else we may even lose our minds. And the primary work we were designed to do that will give us fulfillment is that of the kingdom.