When God created Eden He filled it with beauty, order and abundance. Adam, in turn, committed treason and delivered the world into the hands of the enemy. From that instant everything began to disintegrate into chaos, ruin and scarcity until the glorious moment Jesus declared, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” In one grand sweep of genius love, God began the reconstruction plan of the ages. He would do the work that only He could do, redeeming the world from the powers of sin and death, and then he would bring us back into the act of restoring the earth to it’s original beauty, order and abundance.

God included man in His original purposes when he invited Adam to name the animals, fill the earth and subdue it. And now He has brought us back into His cosmic reconstruction crew. How does He accomplish it? By pouring His life into us, tasking us with various callings, and bringing us to work everyday. In the eyes of God, every day is “Bring your kid to work day.”

The great philosopher and scientist, Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Man by the fall fell at the same time from his state of innocence and from his dominion over creation. Both of these losses, however, can even in this life be in some parts repaired; the former by religion and faith, the latter by the arts and sciences.” It seems to me that God gives to each of us vocational callings that are meant to restore His beauty, order and abundance to the world. Musicians and artists are tasked with filling the world with beauty; farmers, businessmen and industrial workers are called to produce abundance, and policemen, politicians, and judges bring order. Still others, like teachers, builders, and sanitation workers bring some combination of the three.

Regardless of our vocation, work matters; it serves a greater purpose than we dared to think. And to those who have eyes to see the Kingdom, every day is “Bring your kid to work day.” What a joy to work beside Papa in the restoration of all things!