Think Wink.

In recent weeks, I have been studying John 3:16 and preaching my studies to my church. It has been very facinating and enlightening for me to look at a verse that is so taken for widely known and memorized that we hardly ever take the time to actually study it. Also in recent weeks, I was hired at the United Parcel Service, UPS, to load the brown trucks that deliver your mail from 4:00 am to 9:00 am. In studying John 3:16, I saw an illustration of “whoever believes in him” in my hiring process.

You see, my good friend Jimmy works as the east center, pre-load supervisor.  He is basically my boss. I have known him since August because we had Greek and Prophetic Lit together last semester. When I was looking for a source of employment here in KC, I asked him and he told me that UPS was hiring and that I should apply. He would refer me to the company and that would get me hired. So I applied and I was hired fairly quickly, all things considered such as my grandpa passing away during all of this. But I noticed that what got me the job wasn’t my resume or personal references on my application. What got me the job was Jimmy. His standing with the company ensured that I was hired.

The same it true with eternal life and getting into heaven. Anything we bring to God to show that we deserve eternal life in heaven is actually grounds for our condemnation. But we have a friend, Jesus of Nazareth, who has what it takes to get into heaven; he has the good standing with the Judge. Because he advocates our entrance into heaven, we get in. Do you see the parallel here yet? Just as it was because Jimmy’s name and reputation that I was hired by UPS, so it is because of Jesus’ name and reputation that we gain eternal life and are not condemned to eternal punishment in hell. I had to trust Jimmy to have the pull to get me hired. We have to trust Jesus that he has paid the debt that we owe and trust that his righteousness is perfect and can get us in. We just have to trust that it is.

But I push this even further now that I have been hired and have worked there for some time. For the five hours I am there, I work my tail off. My pieces per hour (PPH) is almost 240, which is the goal. All of my supervisors say I am a hard worker. My sore arms and legs and tired body will concur with their assessment. I do not say this to brag but to make a point. I work hard for one reason: I want to show Jimmy that I am grateful for what he did and I do not want to ruin his reputation that is on the line in hiring me.

The same can be applied to Jesus and our discipleship. Jesus says that if we love him we will obey him (John14:15). Once we have been saved, we do the works of Christ. Paul says we have been created in Christ (born again/saved) to do good works prepared in advanced by God (Ephesians 2:10). Paul also says that what counts now is not circumsision but only faith working through love (Galatians 5:6). James says twice that faith without deeds is dead (James 2:14-26). We must go to work for Jesus. But we work to show our gratitude and to honor the name of Christ who saved us. We work because we have joy in trusting that he can save us and did save us from our sin and the wrath of God. We must work and work diligently and hard until Christ returns.

This is just something that I picked up in my studies and looking back on my life. Have you ever looked at your own life and seen examples of the gospel at work that might be able to help spread the truth of Jesus Christ in a way that this world will understand? Try it, you never know what you might uncover.

Related posts:

My Standing Before God

Debunking Bad Arguments

Timothy and Esther’s Prayer