Work is involved in everything that is worthwhile. Work is required to get anything done. This is true in the work world, and especially true in the work of the church. As the old saying goes, talk is cheap. There have been a thousand great ideas discussed in staff and board meetings that would have borne fruit. But, sometimes between the planning and the application, people stop working and the plan fails. Many will blame the plan and use that failure to speak negatively against the next idea that someone wants to try. The plan, oftentimes, is not the problem, the people are. Work was not done to put the plan into action.
The Old Testament gives an account of God's people who had a big job. Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem and taken the Jews to Babylon. When the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, they found Jerusalem in shambles. Trusting in God to help them, a group rebuilt the temple. With God's blessing they finished it. Twelve years had passed since that completion, but the walls of the city had not been finished. Without a secure wall, Jerusalem was at the mercy of bandits and raiders. Nehemiah, the cup bearer for King Artaxerxes, felt a burning desire to see the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, and soon he was on his way to Jerusalem to oversee the rebuilding of the city.
There were all kinds of obstacles, not the least being an enemy who had no desire for Jerusalem to be strong. What was their secret? It is found in Nehemiah 4:6, "So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." They had a mind to work! They were willing to work to build the wall regardless of the danger or hardships. What was the result of their willingness to work? It is found in Nehemiah 6:15, “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.” They overcame all obstacles because the people had a mind to work.
Congratulations to the staff of ADVENTURE Harley and MAD RIVER Harley. You are incredible. You’ve inspired me to be a person of Vision, Passion, and Hard Work. May your vision, passion, and hard work be contagious and find its way into the local church – because I believe the local church is the hope of the world.
