Cultivate: Calling (Daily Encouragement)
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.
– Proverbs 12:11
We see throughout Scripture that work is not a “burden” or a negative effect of the fall (although the fall does make work tedious), but a gift from God. The desire to “cultivate” is part of our humanity and is something not only we need to flourish but something that is an avenue to love God and others. Proverbs 12:11 says “whoever works” or “one who works” which means one who “exerts effort to produce something, one who cultivates for the good of others”. We are called to cultivate in a way that contributes to the common good. While “what we do” shifts over time – seasons as a student, focus on home, primary vocation, retirement from primary vocation, etc. – the call to cultivate and how we cultivate doesn’t.
God made us…to build something up and make it successful and use it not for self-glory but for the glory of God and the benefit of others. That takes humility as we plow one furrow one day and then turn around and plow the next furrow the next day, back and forth, doggedly, ruggedly, faithfully. How will the world be a better place because of what you do this week? What “land” are you developing in practical ways that work? Each week is a God-given tract of land, so to speak, and he is inviting us to make something of it. – Ray Ortlund
When we do work well and do work that is useful to others – not just for self-glory – it has dignity in the eyes of and brings glory to God.
Where has God placed you this season, this week, this day? How can you cultivate “your tract of land” in a way that honors God and benefits around you? How can your little part of the world (house, neighborhood, workplace, city) be a better place because of what you do this week?