There is a large segment of the population of Hulett that equates work with moving things. By that definition, you must be moving cattle, dirt, logs, or hay to be working. A close corollary to this definition is that if you are not attempting to get these things done, you are not fulfilling your call as a man. By this logic, some might think that Jesus was anything but a hard worker and not much of a man. Think about it…
If Jesus were a farmer, he would have spent all day in the fields moving dirt back and forth and then sowing His seed on the ground. But instead, He spent a lot of time talking about planting seeds, but very little time “working” in the fields.
If Jesus were a shepherd, he would have spent weeks and months on end for 24 hours a day moving sheep from one pasture to another making sure the flock was well fed and safe. But although He called Himself the Good Shepherd and talked about moving sheep, we would never say that Jesus was a “hardworking” shepherd.
If Jesus were a fisherman, he would have spent every night out on the lake moving nets and bringing in fish and then every morning sorting fish and cleaning nets. But as we read the gospels, we find Jesus only in the boats to travel and to teach lessons to the crowds and His disciples. He was not “working” the fishery.
If Jesus were a doctor, he would have worked really hard and maybe had some of those 24 hour shifts as a resident in a research hospital healing everybody. But in case you did not notice, Jesus healed a few people here and a few people there and, again, spent more time talking and teaching about healing than actually working a healing practice.
I wonder how many men from Galilee walked away from or never even came to hear Jesus teach because they had their all-important work to get done. I wonder how many men from Nazareth were offended that Jesus would talk a lot about work, but neglect to go out with the rest of the men and move things. I know that in Hulett today, a lot of men think it below their standard to take even one day off to focus on spiritual matters because they have their work to get done.
But that matter of getting work “done” is exactly where Jesus shows Himself to be the most successful hard worker. Although Jesus was not in the business of moving dirt, livestock, fish, or patients, He was in the business of moving sins. In one excruciating day, Jesus worked harder than any man ever to take the sins of all mankind upon Himself, carry them up a hill called Calvary, cover them with His blood on a cross, and render them useless forever. Every other hardworking man that I know is going to go out and work again tomorrow, but Jesus finished His work and completed His task forever.
With that in mind, do not be afraid to take some time off your work to consider how Jesus worked for your sins and do not be afraid to take a day off your work to worship Him, the hardest working man ever. After all, no matter how hard you work, you will still have more work to do tomorrow. But no matter how many your sins are, when you take them to Jesus, they are done away with forever.
“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:12