God Continues to use Carpenters

(Note: This article was posted on the Coram Deo blog.)

This past week, my wife and I had some construction done to the exterior of our house.  We had our back patio rail and our entire second story balcony and railing replaced.  The two-man crew was friendly, experienced, and competent.  They seemed to enjoy what the work they did for us.  I was grateful for their expertise, as I absolutely could not have done what they did myself.

I was reminded that I had addressed the value of blue-collar workers in a couple of places in my book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession.  In chapter 6, I unpacked the biblical connection between God’s presence and human work and shared the story of the Spirit-filled tabernacle construction workers starting in Exodus 31.  In chapter 14, I shared my biblical perspective on several career fields of personal interest to me, including the blue-collar worker.

I am thankful that I felt led to address this important topic, as it was specifically mentioned in my latest book review from a leader in the Black Country Urban Industrial Mission, a faith at work organization in the United Kingdom.  He stated, “The inclusion of the section of blue collar work is important.  Many books on this subject scarcely mention people who make things or provide essential services, but throughout this book (including the cartoon on the cover), it is clear that that these jobs are equally places for Christians to work.”

Let me share some excerpts from chapter 14 to highlight the value that these manual laborers bring into each of our lives, as God uses them to meet the needs of our homes and businesses.

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When I read Beckett’s reflections in his book Mastering Monday about Jesus’s work as a carpenter, it grabbed me.  This is literally a great example of Immanuel labor.  He observes:

For over a decade, Jesus ran a small woodworking shop.  Just as we do in our larger business, he had to plan ahead, purchase materials, maintain his tools and inventory, manage the work of others, tend to product quality, please his customers, and pay taxes.  He was making real products—tables and chairs, cabinets, oxen yokes for farming.  He was meeting real needs. . . Can you imagine the immense satisfaction Jesus found in his work, laboring not just to please himself but his Father in heaven? . . . He was actively modeling and extending the kingdom of God right where he was, amid wood chips and sawdust, rising to the challenges and receiving the rewards of his daily activities.

Wow! I had never thought much about Jesus’s work as a carpenter.  What a colorful description of Jesus’s ordinary blue-collar career!

There are many jobs in this category that I have never had (i.e., any kind of farm work, construction, auto mechanics, landscaping, assembly line, fast food, etc.).  However, I have worked full-time or part-time as a young man in high school, in college, in graduate school, and afterward on a painting crew, as a janitor, bus/van driver for a nursing home, and bus boy.

Believe it or not, I had a lot of fun doing all those jobs.  I learned a great deal and met some interesting people along the way.  It was a character-building time.  It actually felt good to do manual labor for a season.  I was glad that God sovereignly allowed me to get this priceless hands-on experience.  I gained a completely new respect for those who had to do this kind of work for a living.  However, I am extremely grateful, especially as I have gotten older, that my current job requires me to use my mind and my keyboard much more than my body.

I worked all of these jobs before I joined the army.  Here is a list of some of the various types of work I had to do occasionally during my army career: digging fighting positions (foxholes), vehicle maintenance, inspecting and repairing weapons and protective masks, simulated decontamination of military vehicles, filling sandbags, picking up brass after shooting on a rifle range, loading and unloading heavy equipment and supplies from vehicles, putting up huge camouflage nets, pitching tents, erecting communication antennas, and driving around the desert.

A few years ago, Timothy Keller posted a quote on his Facebook page that caught my attention.  He said, “Mission includes our secular vocations, not just church ministry.”  I do not know if it was from a sermon or from his book, Every Good Endeavor, which I have quoted often.  It generated a good discussion.  One reader named Thomas Hoover, who graciously gave me permission to use his passionate response, posted this profound statement:

Secularly speaking, I am “just” a factory worker.  Is God not the God of factory workers as well?  Yes, factory workers as well.  When Jesus walks through the turnstile with me and the other Christians who work there the Kingdom is as much “at hand” as anywhere Jesus goes.  Wherever the soles of our feet tread is where His kingdom advances.  Whenever the Holy Spirit moves within us to speak and act as sons and daughters of God, there, on the factory floor, is holy ground.

This is powerful!

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As I look back on what I had written a few years ago, I feel I need to add something more.

During my studies over the past thirty years, I have come to a much better understanding of what the Bible says about God’s purposes for work, how work is intrinsically and instrumentally of value, and how God works through a variety of workers to meet the whole spectrum of human needs.  All work is of value because God is a worker, and therefore all workers are to be valued.

I have also become grateful for the multitude of people that have God-given talents that enable them to do those things that I could never do for myself.  I know that God still works today, largely through the work of humans that He has equipped with a variety of talents and gifts.  We need to encourage those who do work for us and with us that their work truly matters to God.

About the author:

Russell E. Gehrlein is a Christian, husband of 39 years, father of three, grandfather of four, and author of Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work, published by WestBow Press in February 2018.  He received a B.S. in Mathematics from Colorado State University and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.  He is a former junior/senior high school math and science teacher and youth pastor. After serving 20 years on active duty, Russ now works as a Department of the Army civilian at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  Over 40 articles posted on this blog have been published on several Christian organization’s blogs or websites, including: the Center for Faith & Work at LeTourneau University, Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, Coram Deo, Nashville Institute for Faith + Work, Made to Flourish, 4Word Women, Acton Institute, The Gospel Coalition, and Midwestern Seminary.