And God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 
Genesis 1:26 

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 22:5

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Genesis 1:26 tells us that we are made in the likeness of God. He created, or worked, without grueling or toiling, to make humankind. In fact, He created work before sin entered the world. People, because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, work under a curse by the sweat of our brow, or in other words, often with difficulty. Even still, we keep working because work is a good thing. 

When I began writing again after a 40-year pause, my brain was not accustomed to the inner discipline required to write clearly and with unity of purpose. One day, though, when Jesus returns and brings the new heaven and the new earth, and I’m retooled with a mind and body in the likeness of Christ’s, I anticipate that my words will flow like smooth stones skipping the surface of a placid pond. 

In Heaven,  the work obstacles we now face—the grueling and toiling—will be gone. Reading Revelation 22:5 makes me think that power outages and dead batteries will not delay our work because of lack of light because “Lord God will give them light.” “They will reign forever and ever” helps us see that we will have work to do, and our work will have one unified goal, to do whatever Jesus Christ proposes.

As Christ followers, today’s and other scripture verses give us hope. They are a light to guide us in the darkness, through the toil that our work can sometimes feel like as we intend to bring glory to God. 

When I write, whether the words come easily or it feels like a grueling task, I want it to be such that God, if He chooses, can use it to bring the reader closer to Himself. That’s it. For if He uses it, He will be glorified. This feels a little like how work was intended to be and a little bit of Heaven on Earth. 

And so, what might you be doing today that feels like bringing Heaven on Earth in your work? 

Next Steps 

Read Ephesians 2:10 daily to affirm your value to God: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus, which God prepared in advance for us to do. How can you bring Heaven to Earth through your work today?