A few weeks ago my new ministry team chose a name. (Our team is a small group within the squad that will do ministry and life together!) Names are very important to our language: they aren’t just what people yell to get your attention, they are permanently attached to your identity. We wanted to choose a name that our team could identify with, something that we can use to remind ourselves who we are.
We chose to be called “Avodah”, a Hebrew word that was used 145 times in the Old Testament to refer to “labor”, or “service” as an act of worship. Austin Burkhart writes, “Avodah is a picture of an integrated faith. A life where work and worship come from the same root. So often we think of worship as something we do on Sunday and work as something we do on Monday. This dichotomy is neither what God designed nor what he desires for our lives.” Read more: https://tifwe.org/avodah-a-life-of-work-worship-and-service/
At the very beginning, before sin entered the world, God commanded Adam to work. (Genesis 2:15) The Fall did not destroy the original purpose of man, it only made it more difficult to follow. We were not made to be idle. No, we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:16) But modern-day Americans have a different view of work than the Ancient Hebrews did. We see it as a regrettable necessity, something we HAVE to do in order to make money and survive. Avodah means that we work not for monetary gain, nor so we can snatch glory for ourselves, but so that our very lives may glorify God! Avodah means that the most menial tasks are not done for human masters or earthly prizes, but for the Lord himself. (Col 3:23-24)
But how can the most useless-seeming jobs be worshipful to God? Sure, our team is about to embark on 9 months of mission work, but will it still seem as impressive and meaningful when we are washing dishes or scrubbing floors? What if we have to quarantine again and are restricted to service that doesn’t involve human contact? And what about after the World Race, when we are scattered to “normal” occupations in the US? Will our work be just as worshipful then as it is when it involves evangelism and ministry? It will be if we allow Christ to inundate our lives. Only he can take these feeble acts of obedience and grow them into worship. Avodah is offering a humble heart and willing spirit so that His glory may be known through our imperfect practice.
Even if it is not seen or appreciated by man, our work, whatever or wherever it may be, is valued by God when we do it humbly. We are not world changers. Our service with the World Race is going to be relatively small-scale and short-lived. There’s only so much you can do in nine months. But we will set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col 3:2) Christ sees our work, even if other people don’t, and when we work knowing that he is pleased with our small service, we fulfill Avodah living.
When the World Race is over, when the world itself has expired, worship is all that remains. It was our purpose in the beginning, before the fall, and it has not changed since. When that time comes, and every person has confessed that Christ is Lord, missionaries will no longer be needed. But worship will always be imperative because never, in all eternity, will we be able to bless God sufficiently or fully comprehend His magnificence. Avodah is a word that calls us to strive toward our original purpose with our heavenly destiny in sight. Over the next nine months, and for the rest of our lives, team Avodah will strive to glorify God through humble work, worship, and service, knowing that we are imperfect imitators of Christ who we endeavor to make known to the world. This we do by quietly and bravely serving in any way or place needed, knowing that although our efforts may be unnoticed or unappreciated by man, God is the one whom we ultimately serve. We will deny ourselves daily, so that our very lives may bring glory to the only One who deserves it.
