Working Through the BibleSample

You may feel that your work doesn’t matter. For many of us, it can be challenging to see how our daily efforts contribute to God’s eternal mission in the world. However, a vision at the end of the Bible helps to illuminate this reality. At the book’s conclusion, the apostle John receives a vision of the new Jerusalem, which seems to be the place where all of humanity will dwell with Christ for eternity. John describes it as being “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” in verse 2. This offers a hint elaborated on in a later verse: the bride adorns herself.

Once we reach Revelation 21:12, the surprise becomes clearer. The image of a city appears, complete with a great, high wall and twelve gates bearing the names of the tribes inscribed upon them. Throughout the Bible, the facts remain consistent: cities are built by humans, not by God. The inscription of each tribe on the gates only reinforces this point. Just as the bride has adorned herself, the heavenly city has been constructed by human hands. Not entirely, of course. We saw in the parable of the seeds that good things come from human effort only when God contributes his work to the mix.

What does this mean for our work? It means our work has eternal value. Our efforts, when combined with God’s work, contribute to building the eternal city. Simply put, this changes everything. All that we do, properly understood in light of Christ’s presence, could serve as a brick in the wall of the new Jerusalem. This simple idea has the potential to provide dignity and meaning even to the most mundane jobs. The vision of eternity in Revelation is glorious, and our work contributes to that glory.

In our final week, we focus on the vision of eternity found throughout the Bible.