Are you familiar with this reframing of what is known as the 4 part gospel, Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration? Attributed to Michael Metzger, there are a lot of internet articles that reflect on this concept. Here is a short article (2 minute read) on how this reframing works as a theological lens, “Do You Understand the World?”

Foundational to a theology of work is the idea that can is what we are doing in our work. We see the gap between the way the world ought to be and the way that it is and we do what we can to close that gap. When we are able to see our work through that lens, we are able to see how our work is pleasing to God. It is a part of restoring His world to the way that it ought to be, the way He created it to be.

The will part is the outcome and this is ultimately up to God, not our efforts. Complete restoration does not take place until Jesus returns, so our hope is anchored in a promised future and not in what we experience in this age. But, there is the possibility of experiencing significant “tastes” of restoration in our lives. What we can do will have a limited impact (and might have no impact at all), but if God adds His power to our efforts, then extraordinary results can occur.

Naturally, we are keenly interested in these outcomes. Our hope is in the future new heaven and earth, but we live in this present age so we eagerly desire what we can experience now. Extraordinary results are the content of encouraging testimonies about life in general and in the business world. The business world is success oriented and these outcomes are huge successes (not just financially but in terms of Kingdom of God impact on the world).

So we ask questions like….What can we do that will foster more of these types of outcomes? Are there keys to tapping into the power of God that is needed for these outcomes? And the big question for me is, how much does God want to accomplish these outcomes by adding His power to our efforts? Since these outcomes are dependent on God’s power, what is the appropriate level of pursuit and expectation that we should have with regard to what we will experience in our work?

There are people within theology of work circles who will talk about the potential of transforming companies, industries and even cities if Christians would better grasp and apply this framework to their work. This is a high expectation of what will happen if we do what we can to close the ought… is gap with our work. And this expectation is based on the belief that God wants to empower what we can do to bring about significant restoration in the world.

In this perspective, a problem is that Christians have lost sight of how much God is interested in the present world, and have relegated restoration too much to the future new heaven and earth. As a result, Christians are content to let the world “go to hell in a handbasket” instead of working to restore it to how it ought to be.

I agree with this perspective in terms of how it understands ought, is and can applies to our work lives, but I have a hard time believing its expectations when it comes to the will part. I am not convinced that God is as interested in empowering our efforts to accomplish extraordinary results as we want Him to be. I suspect that the popular testimonies give the impression that we can and even should expect these outcomes when they are, in fact, rare. It is more common for people to experience the absence of God empowering their efforts for the desired result, especially extraordinary ones. Am I being cynical or are the other people engaging in wishful thinking? What is the reality that God has us living in? These are ongoing questions for me.

Next time I will look at another area of our lives, that is even more important to us than our work, through the ought….is….can….will lens, our relationship and experience with our bodies.