I have a frame tent which I bought in a sale – and it wasn’t long before I realised why the price had been reduced – the sides of the tent don’t quite stretch down to the ground, so there is a dreadful draught as the wind whips under the walls. When I said on Monday that I enjoyed camping, I meant it, but I didn’t tell the whole story. It is probably true to say I am really a fair weather camper – some of the most miserable holidays of my life have been spent under canvas, like the time when a large party of friends were camping in the Gower in the summer of 2007. It started well enough, but it began to rain, transforming the site into a smelly mire, and it felt like the ground sheets were floating on a soft squelchy waterbed. The children grew tired of being cooped up with only a pack of cards for entertainment and tempers started to fray. Added to that I had sciatica and was in considerable pain, unable to get comfortable anywhere. We left early – fortunately avoiding severe floods which stranded some of our party. Now is not the time to list other camping disasters, but there are many…..
“ After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.” Acts 18:1-3 [NIV]
The apostle Paul was a tentmaker – he would have made a better job of constructing my tent than the manufacturers, I am sure. In Christian parlance, tentmaker has come to have a particular meaning. Unlike Peter and other apostles in the early Christian Church, who devoted themselves entirely to their religious ministry and lived off the money donated by Church members, Paul frequently performed outside work, so that he would not be a financial burden to the young Churches he founded. Paul's purpose in working was to set an example for the Christians, he didn’t want them thinking that as God’s Kingdom was imminent there was no point in doing ordinary things like work. By working diligently and to a high standard he also hoped to make his life a quality witness to Jesus. He also hoped that his refusal to accept financial support would build his credibility among non-Christians, thus giving him the chance to win over more of them. Very few of us are employed and paid by the church or other Christian bodies – most of us do ostensibly secular work – but in doing our work we have the means to use our talents and make a difference for Christ in the way we work and how we relate to colleagues and clients.
Ask God to bless your work and those you work with and to see it as a means of spreading God’s love to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment