Kingdom Work

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself: What is my purpose in life?

It's a weighty question, one that can leave us feeling uncertain or scattered. We're pulled in countless directions—work demands, family obligations, social commitments, personal ambitions. In the chaos of daily life, we might struggle to articulate what we're truly about.

The Westminster Catechism offers a profound answer: "To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." Beautiful words. True words. But here's the uncomfortable question: If a camera crew followed you around for a week, documenting every conversation, every purchase, every quiet moment alone—what would your life reveal about your actual priorities?

The Jar of Rocks
Imagine a jar filled with rocks of various sizes—large, medium, and small. If you start by pouring in all the tiny pebbles first, you'll find that the big rocks won't fit when you try to add them later. But if you place the large rocks in first, all the smaller stones will filter around them, filling in the gaps perfectly.

This simple visual captures a spiritual truth Jesus taught: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well."

The question isn't whether we have room for God in our lives. The question is whether we're putting Him first.

A 2,500-Year-Old Problem
The book of Haggai addresses this exact struggle. Written around 520 BC, Haggai's prophecy came to God's people who had returned from Babylonian exile. Twenty years earlier, they'd been given permission to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple that had been destroyed. They'd laid the foundation with great enthusiasm, but then opposition arose. Enemies threatened them. Economic pressures mounted. Building God's house became difficult.

So they stopped.

But here's what's telling: while they stopped building the temple, they didn't stop building. They redirected their energy toward constructing their own "paneled houses"—fine homes with quality materials and craftsmanship.

God's response through Haggai was direct: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses while this house remains a ruin?"

He continued: "You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

Sound familiar? We work harder, earn more, buy more, yet somehow still feel empty. We're busy building our kingdoms while God's kingdom work waits.

Four Messages for Kingdom Builders
God gave His people four encouraging messages through Haggai, and they speak powerfully to us today.

1. Build My House
The first message was clear: prioritize kingdom work. For them, it meant literally rebuilding the temple. For us, it means examining how we use our time, talent, and treasure.

Do we start our days scrolling through phones or opening God's Word? Do we give our best effort at work to glorify God or just to get by? Do we wait until the end of the month to see if anything's left for kingdom purposes, or do we put God first in our giving?

These aren't legalistic rules but invitations to align our lives with eternal priorities.

2. I Am With You
Thirty days into the rebuilding project, God spoke again: "Be strong and work, for I am with you." The people faced real opposition—sometimes literally holding swords in one hand and tools in the other. The work was dangerous and difficult.

God reminded them of His covenant presence. His Spirit remained among them. They didn't need to fear because He controlled everything, including the arrows flying toward them.

Then God made an astonishing promise: this second temple would be greater than Solomon's magnificent first temple. How could that be? The second temple was physically inferior, built with limited resources.

The answer came centuries later when Jesus walked into that temple. The glory wasn't in the building's ornate decorations but in the presence of Emmanuel—God with us. When Jesus died, the temple curtain tore in two, removing the barrier between humanity and God forever.

The temple was greater because Jesus fulfilled what the temple represented: peace with God.

3. I Will Bless You
Three months into the work, the harvest hadn't come. The people were frustrated. "We've sacrificed everything for You, God. Where's the blessing?"

God's response: "From this day on, I will bless you."

But here's what we often miss: God's blessings don't always look like we expect. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Not exactly a marketing slogan for comfortable Christianity.

Sometimes disappointment, failure, and lack are God's path to blessing. Why? Because in our poverty, we gain clarity. We see God work with nothing. We discover that the greatest blessing isn't what we build but who we become.

God's will is our sanctification—our transformation into Christ's likeness. That's the real blessing.

4. I Have Chosen You
God's final message focused on Zerubbabel, the governor whose name meant "born in Babylon." Here was a man born in exile, in slavery, in oppression. Yet God raised him to leadership and placed him in the royal line of David.

"I will make you like my signet ring," God promised—a symbol of kingly authority. "I have chosen you."

Zerubbabel's great-great-great-grandson would be Jesus Christ, the eternal King who would overthrow all earthly powers and establish an everlasting kingdom.

God chooses unlikely people for His purposes. He takes those born in "Babylon"—outsiders, exiles, the overlooked—and writes them into His redemptive story.

Living as God's Temple Today
Here's the beautiful truth: we are now God's temple. Through Jesus, people from every nation gather under the authority of the Son of David. We're the living stones being built into God's dwelling place.

The question remains: What are we building? Our own kingdoms with their temporary glory? Or God's kingdom with eternal significance?

It starts with the big rocks—those non-negotiable priorities that honor God first. When we place those in the jar first, everything else finds its proper place.

God invites us to build His house, reminds us He is with us, promises to bless us, and assures us He has chosen us. All the curses we deserved fell on Jesus so that all the life and blessing could flow to us—and through us to everyone around us.

What will your reality show reveal about your true purpose?