A Job Better than Mowing the Lawn
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
Do you remember your first job where you were paid with real money that wasn’t from your parents?
For me, it was a lawn mowing job.
It is true that my parents helped me get the job with the neighbor lady. She was a retired lady who lived alone, and she asked my mother if she could hire me to mow her lawn.
I was 12 years old and my mother said that she could hire me and then told me that I had a job. I didn’t really have a choice in the matter as my mother just told me to go mow the lawn. But when those four dollars were placed in my hand back in the early 1970s, I thought I was pretty rich.
Soon other people around town found out that I was available to mow lawns and I was busy pretty much every day of the week. It was tiring, but I enjoyed watching the bank account grow. I purchased my first motorcycle with some of the money as well as a bicycle that was brand new and not built from spare parts.
This makes me think of another first job.
In the story of the resurrection of Jesus, it talks about the first task, so to speak, that Jesus did when He rose from the dead.
John 20:17 records –
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.''
Notice the words “my brethren.” Jesus is sending a message to His disciples that they are still His brothers. The very disciples that had abandoned Him, and in Peter’s case, vocally betrayed Him. He wanted them to know they were still His brothers. I love what Desire of Ages says about these moments.
Christ's first work on earth after His resurrection was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them.
His first job was to let His disciples know He still loved them no matter what had happened in the past.
The disciples’ world had been in turmoil. It was upside down. They had seen some really terrible things happen in their world.
But Jesus upon His resurrection started to put it all back together again. This is still true today.
Our world is pretty topsy turvy and all messed up right now. There is turmoil all around both in the world and for many in our personal lives. But Jesus is the same today as then in that His first work each day is to let us know that He still loves us and is there for us.
His payment is for us to accept Him each day and walk with Him and let Him put our world back together again in His own way and time.
This is much better than four dollars earned from mowing a lawn.
This week take some moments as you grow spiritually to let Jesus start putting your world back together again. And find a way to share your story to encourage someone else in their faith journey.