I remember when I was a child of seven or eight, my dad’s company had a “bring your child to work day.” At the time, my dad worked for Motorola, and I thought he had the coolest job ever. (He even wore a funny thing called a pager. For my teenage friends, that’s a device that pre-dated the cell phone craze.)
Motorola pulled out all the stops for the day. There were a few fun kid sessions, and then we were able to hang out with Dad. He’s a chemist, so he took my two brothers and me to his lab where he showed us the equipment and explained what it did (which went way over my head). He let us look under his microscopes at some samples and then gave us a tour of the plant.
It was AWESOME.
For the only time in my life, I could say I was “about my father’s business” of chemistry. Now, I’m a writer and still don’t understand half of what he does.
Thankfully, I don’t have to be in a specific career to be about my heavenly Father’s business. God’s business isn’t just for pastors. After all, the Apostle Paul was a tentmaker by trade (Acts 18:3). Peter and Andrew were fisherman (Matthew 4:18). Lydia was a maker of purple goods, most likely clothes (Acts 16:4).
God’s business is sharing the gospel or “good news” with others, wherever we are, whatever we do. After all, that’s what Jesus did.
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life…” (John 6:40 NKJV)
The great commission in Matthew 28 to “go” and “make disciples” is not just for a select few. If you know Christ as your personal Savior, you are already part of the “chosen generation” that Peter writes about, whose “job” is to “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
It also isn’t just for missionaries. As much as I love short-term missions, those trips represent a mere fraction of my life. I can’t shelve my Christianity when I’m not in full-time ministry (although as a teacher, I’m convinced today’s schools – even Christian schools – are a mission field of their own).
How then do we begin? Shine and be light in a dark world (Philippians 2:15). Maybe start with a simple act of kindness to a stranger or share your testimony with someone. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or dramatic. Just be honest. What did Jesus do for you?
Age doesn’t matter either. Remember, 12-year-old Jesus was in the temple “about his Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). Tweens and teens, you can have a huge impact for Christ in your schools, sports events, and social settings.
So my challenge this week is simple: be about our Father’s business.
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