Creator or Creation

This blog is the second in a series of written and video material aimed at helping you to live wisely and do ministry sustainably. In this series we hope to provide some biblical categories and practical helps as a substitute for the popularly used category of self-care.
 

When it comes to sustainable living and sustainable ministry you need to start at the beginning… the very beginning. 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 

In this snappy introduction to life there are ten words which lay down two categories - creator and creation. Don’t jumble them up. Don’t get them confused… though in a fallen world, it is probably easier said than done. 

Let’s start with the creator. God is the centre of everything and the source of all life (John 1:4). He created lungs and hearts, and he owns every breath and every heartbeat. He never needs a nap, he can multitask like a boss, and he is everywhere. He knows everything there is to know. He made kangaroos, squirrels, aardvarks, and rhinos … and he did it easily. He didn’t even work up a sweat. He merely spoke words …  “and God said… and it was so… and it was good.” (Genesis 1:9-10) 

We, on the other hand, are his creation – his creatures. He made us from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7) to be his image bearers. We bear the family likeness in a way unlike any other created thing. There is a grandeur and glory to humanity which is not enjoyed by a giraffe, a platypus, or anything else in creation.  

God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 

We are like God, but we are not God. 
Don’t ever forget that. 

In the beginning, there was a simple order, creator and creation. Everything flourished. Everyone and everything knew its place. There was shalom. But before long, disaster struck. Under pressure from the Devil, humanity decided it was no longer good enough to be like God, they wanted to be God. This desire to be God, rather than be like him, spread like wildfire until every part of humanity was affected (Genesis 6:5). This virus spread to every person and has been passed on from one generation to the next. Sometimes it shows up in high-handed conscious ways and other times it is more subtle and less noticeable. Whatever it looks like, you can expect this virus to infect the way you do life and ministry. 

But stop for a moment and step out of the human bubble. How great is humanity anyway? If we compare ourselves to God, how well do we stack up? Not well at all. It’s a ridiculous comparison. Most of us weigh somewhere between 50-120kg. We can’t run very fast. We can’t lift very much. We don’t live very long (about 80 years). We can’t go for very long before we need to rest - we probably need to sleep for about a third of our lives. The younger we are the more we think we know, and the older we get the less we know we know. 

By way of comparison, God can’t be measured, He is quick, can lift anything, is eternal, never needs to rest, and knows everything. 

We are totally outclassed. We are not that great. 

It is easy to forget your finiteness. 

Despite our tendency to forget we are finite, there is hope. God has built natural limits into us which function as a regular reminder we are creatures – if you let them. One of these is our need to sleep and rest (something he never needs to do - Psalm 121:4). You can try and push the limits on this one, but at the end of the day, you will rest whether you like it or not. Your built-in limitation will eventually catch up with you. 

The Gospel of John (5:1-17) tells the story of Jesus’ interaction with an invalid at the Pool of Bethesda. The man had been crippled for 38 years when Jesus healed him. He got up, picked up his bed and walked away. It was an amazing miracle. Unfortunately though, the Jews missed the point and didn’t think it was great at all because it was done on the sabbath day. In their view, Jesus was working, and people shouldn’t be working on the sabbath. In the midst of them giving him grief about it, Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” (John 5:17) 

He was not a mere man, he was God in the flesh, and God is always at work. He never stops. He is always up to something. That is who he is. 

God works unceasingly, we don’t. 

We need to rest. 

Stop for a moment and reflect on your life and ministry patterns. Do they align with your built-in need for rest? Allow me to be specific: how long has it been since you had a full day off? Are you getting enough sleep? The misalignment between the way we have been made and the way we do work and ministry can pop up in all sorts of ways. It can be seen in the long hours we work and the lack of work life balance. Or in the way we bring work home with us, chewing it over when we are not officially ‘on the clock.’ Sometimes it shows up in the way we work long stretches without any breaks. 

When it comes to ministry we can spend countless hours in situations in an effort to make them go where we think they need to go, fretting about them when we are not engaged, because we have subtly believed the outcome ultimately depends upon us. 

God is the only one without limits. 

He is the only one who can work unceasingly. 

When we try to, bad things happen. 

Here is a better way. Instead of working like God, try working with him in restful trust. Be clear about who he is, who you are, and what your role is. Be on your guard against attempting things above your pay grade – like trying to control the future or trying to bring about the change you so desperately want to see in someone’s heart. These things are beyond you. Be okay with it, but don’t be lazy.

God has work for you to do which is matched to the way he has made you (Ephesians 2:10). 

How can you tell you are doing the right things in the right way? By a simple comparison between your work and your rest. 

How will you know there is something wrong? By a simple comparison between your work and your rest. 

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:1-2 

Anxious toil is an indicator we have forgotten our place. 

Sleep is the fruit of peaceful dependence. 

So… settle into your finiteness. Take breaks when you are at work. Have a day off. Work a normal full-time week. Turn your phone off when you get home. Trust God to keep things running while you rest. You are not as pivotal as you sometimes think. 

And sleep well.