In fact, the authors tell us, we should expect to be regularly frustrated in our work. But why don’t we always experience work this way? Our Problems with Workīecause of the entry of sin into the world, God’s perfect plan for work has been distorted. Yes, work was originally a significant part of God’s good plan for our lives. This leads us into a discussion on work as cultivation-the redeeming of culture-and work as service. All work should be seen as from God and for God and thus part of the sacred ministry of each individual’s life. This view prohibits seeing “secular” work as less dignified than the “sacred” work of ministry. The authors go on to say that because work reflects the image of God in us-because work is something God does and we continue as God’s representatives-work of all kinds has dignity. The authors make the case that work is a foundational part of our makeup-so much so that without meaningful work, human beings develop a profound sense of loss. Work was also a part of life in paradise, given to mankind as a part of the blessedness of the garden. The Hebrew word mlkh-the word for ordinary human work-is used repeatedly to describe the work God does in creating the world. Keller and Alsdorf begin with the original design of work, proclaiming it good and an intricate part of God’s good plan for human beings. What follows is a most thorough discussion on how work and faith are intertwined God’s Plan for Work It matters to God, it matters to the coming of the Kingdom, and it matters to the world now. This is the thesis of Every Good Endeavor-that our work matters. …If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling, can matter forever… Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught.īut if the God of the Bible is true, the authors say, this changes everything. If this life is all there is, then everything will eventually burn up in the death of the sun and no one will even be around to remember anything that has ever happened. But that is beyond the control of any of us. Everyone wants to be successful rather than forgotten, and everyone wants to make a difference in life. This story is so poignant, Keller and Alsdorf say, because we are all Niggle.Įveryone imagines accomplishing things, and everyone finds him- or herself largely incapable of producing them. Imagine his joy when he arrives at the outskirts of heavenly country and sees a tree-the very tree he had seen so many times in his imagination-“ its leaves opening, its branches growing and bending in the wind that Niggle had so often felt or guessed, and yet had so often failed to catch…” In despair at the incomplete realization of his life’s work, Niggle boards the train bound for the afterlife. The trouble is, Niggle is a perfectionist, and upon the event of his death, the only completed portion of his dream painting is one beautiful leaf. The story is about a painter named Niggle who devotes his entire life to painting a grand image that starts with a tree. Tolkien during an impasse in his work on The Lord of the Rings. In the introduction to Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, Tim Keller and Katherine Leary Alsdorf share the story of Leaf by Niggle, a short story written by J.R.R.
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