A familiar song we sometimes include in our worship is titled, “I Want to Be a Worker for the Lord.” While the tune of this song is simple and uplifting, the title and words hold a powerful meaning. As Christians, we should “want” to be workers for the Lord and want to be workers for several important reasons.
We should want to be workers because we love doing the will of God. We know that Jesus’ focus was on doing the Father’s will, and ours should be too (Matthew 26:42). We know that God’s will is perfect and good, as He is perfect, which should make it easy for us to prefer His will over our own.
We should want to be workers because there is so much to do. God’s word commands us to live faithful lives, study God’s word, grow spiritually, share the gospel with those who do not know it, and teach others. Jesus said, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37). There is more work to be done in the kingdom than there are workers to do it.
We should want to be workers because we need to be workers. Doing the work of the kingdom or the work of the Lord is not an optional part of Christianity. While we should enjoy putting time and energy into spiritual efforts, we should also recognize this as a requirement and need (Matthew 6:20).
What work are you and I doing for the Lord today? What more could we determine to do for the good of the Kingdom of God?
Matt Langfield