All Your Heart

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

“Whatever you do, work at it with ALL YOUR HEART”

There are no excuses for giving less than your best to anything you do in life.  The Lord has commissioned us to do everything with all our heart, never lacking in zeal.  I have seen some examples of this in the last few days (in 2009).

1.  An Ice Cream shop called Lappert’s. A man came to Kaua’i and had one taste of an ice cream cone and decided it was terrible.  He threw it in the garbage. Then he told his wife, he was going to make the best ice cream because people deserve that.  So they packed up there stuff in California and headed back to Hawaii, where they made their home.  He made a flourishing business with his homemade ice cream through his hard work.  I’ve tasted it and can atest to the fact that it is truly one of the best I’ve ever tasted.  But the fact of the matter is, he saw something was missing and decided to do something about it.

2.  There is a coffee plantation here in Kaua’i.  Rows and rows of coffee beans.  It’s amazing to look at it, but even more amazing to look how it goes through the process of becoming the coffee we get in a nice little package or the cup at a local store.  Again, someone had a dream of making great coffee, so they took that dream and planted it into the ground.  They developed it and now the coffee is served everywhere.

3.  Yesterday, on our walk we watched a man way up high in a coconut tree.  He had climbed up the tree and was hanging on by some equipment he had.  He was there to trim the tree with a machete knife.  The coconuts and branches came flying down.  It was then this devotional came to me, as I thought WOW!

Seriously, people work so hard to give us some of the simple things that we enjoy.  Ice cream, coffee, and coconuts.   These are just three things that most people enjoy, but think of the thousands of other things we consume.  They don’t come in a can or just show up at the grocery store.  Someone is out there planting a seed, watering it, and harvesting it.  Someone is out there climbing a tree and taking down the fruit.  They take the work they do seriously, so that we can enjoy the best possible product.

Do you do the best possible job you can do with the work you’ve been called to do?  Maybe you are a mother/father to your children, a teacher to a classroom of children, a baker, a janitor, a doctor, a lawyer, an athlete, a coach, an entertainer, an administrative assistant, a pastor, an assistant at church, office worker, a janitor, or many other positions.  Whatever you do, your work is important.  Some days it may not seem like it, but trust me it is.  Remember, who you are working for.  Yes, if you work for an employer, then they do give you your paycheck.  But they do not control your eternal reward!

Your inheritance, your valuable richnes, your incredible reward is in Jesus Christ the One whom you are serving each and every day!   May your days be serviced to Him and not to this world, as it is He who is the One you working for.

Lord, please help me to put my everything in to all that I do for You!  I live because You live inside of me.  I love because You first loved me.  I breathe because You give me breath to breathe!  I have the opportunity to write and share who You are because of what You are, so may I do it with a full heart!  Please increase my zeal and keep my eyes on my eternal inheritance!

All my heart is yours,