Father, give us strength to do your work.
"For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me."John 5:36
These words, spoken by Jesus tells us a lot about Jesus and God. They followed an argument with the Jewish elders about healing on the Sabbath day.
Why did Jesus continue to break the Jewish Law? God had commanded that no one was to work on the Sabbath. He had dedicated it as a Holy day. Was Jesus going against God?
The answer was in the way the Sabbath was being kept. The priests and leaders of the people looked at the Sabbath as a ritual. Even the Laws of Moses weren't being kept for the reasons that God wanted. They had redefined the law in order to go as close to breaking it as possible rather than trying to do God's wishes. That summarises human life.
When we're tempted, do we have some sort of cut-off point? Do we have the attitude of "it's OK to take paper clips from the office but taking a notebook is stealing"? In that case have they redefined 'stealing' as taking things more expensive than paper clips? Or it might be that going a few miles per hour over the speed limit is OK, or copying software, videos or other copyright material, etc. The simple fact is that God knows, and just because we have 'tolerances' doesn't mean that God does. With things as importance as our lives, it's always best to err on the side of caution. No one is going to get told off if they tend to drive at 28mph instead of 30. No one is going to get into trouble with copyright if they are using free, open-source software.
The same applies to our lives. If we try to follow Jesus' lead, then we can't go far wrong.
Jesus work was to bring people to God. It is something he is still doing today. We can't approach God through anyone else, and neither can any anyone. Jesus is our mediator and our prayers go to God through him.
Which brings us back around to Christ's work. In the last two verses of Matthew's Gospel Jesus told his disciples
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
This preaching is part of Christ's work and it is something he has passed on to us. Are we doing Christ's work?
How do we 'do the work of Christ'?
Do we have certain areas that we may tend to be 'tolerant' about when it comes to obeying the law?
What do we do on the Sabbath day? Do we keep it Holy?