We’re given the full measure of God’s redemptive plan in Colossians. There, we’re reminded that Christ created everything in the universe, including, “… things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.” All these things, the passage insists, were “created by him and for him.” And Paul leaves no room for doubt: Jesus died and rose again not only to save men’s souls, but to “reconcile to himself all things … by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

The “good news” was never meant to be confined to the space of a human heart. It sweeps through the universe. “The total work of the gospel,” theologian Anthony Hoekema writes, “is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. … We need to see God’s redemptive program in cosmic dimensions.” Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.—in offices and at job sites—God’s people become enmeshed with Christ’s work in the world, not only to convert souls, but to transform the created order. As they sit behind desks, steering wheels, or easels they live by grace, dependent on God, mindful that it is in Him that all these things hold together. And they’re hopeful, knowing that because of the Resurrection, it is to Him that these things will be reconciled.

Saved for a Purpose

We will one day resume the work for which we were created, unfettered by the sin that now weighs us down. Easter therefore, makes us think of Eden. And the empty tomb not only reminds us of the life to come, but of life as it was meant to be. It affirms that when Christ created the world it was beautiful and good…but not stagnant; that man and woman, created in God’s image and placed in the Garden as His emissaries, were to continue the work that God began. They were to subdue the natural world—planting and harvesting crops, distributing food, harnessing energy, improving communications. They were to fill the Earth—creating families, building cities, societies, and cultures. And they were to rule on God’s behalf—forming governments, creating systems, organizations, and communities. They were, in short, to draw out from creation more beauty and complexity. And they are today—in every facet of human life—to make the world richer and fuller for the sake of God’s glory, and their neighbors’ good.

The Christian’s work in the world has never been peripheral to the purpose of his life. It’s not a consequence of the Fall, or something we’re to do on the side. It is not a necessary evil thrust on us by the need to pay next month’s mortgage.

Ruling, filling, and subduing the Earth—obeying God’s commission to create culture—is why we were made. And in 2006, business, government, science, homemaking, and the arts are the tools we have for advancing God’s creative work in the world.

The Pervasiveness of Sin

We are often urged to spend less time at the office. Good advice usually. Many people, including Christians, spend too much time at work, neglecting their families, friendships, and the need for rest. But “time at the office” isn’t the fundamental problem: purpose is. 1 Corinthians 12:18 assures us that “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Therefore, we can safely conclude that God wants most of His people at work in the secular world. By God’s providence, the race that has been set before them—for eight to 10 hours a day, five or six days a week—is actually at the office. And it is there that they are to glorify God, to nurture and protect the creation, and to make life more abundant for their neighbors.

This is all good and noble sounding but it is, perhaps, naïve. The fact is, as Richard Mouw, the author of When the Kings Come Marching In, points out, the curse of sin “touches the natural realm. It reaches into art and economics; it affects family relationships and educational endeavors, it holds thrones and budgets in its grips … .”

The evidence is everywhere. Next week, for example, when you board a plane for an important business trip you might consider this: In the six days of creation God didn’t make a single form of transportation. He didn’t create a airplane wing, fuselage, or rudder, yet they were all here, waiting for man to draw them out from the Earth, so that his neighbors might enjoy more satisfying lives. But one look at the business section of your local paper reveals that something’s gone wrong. Major airlines are on the brink of bankruptcy, and management and labor, rather than being concerned with how they might serve their neighbors, are battling for every scrap that’s left on the table. And pride is as much a factor as fairness.

Describing the situation between Delta Airlines and the Air Line Pilot’s Association, Les Hough, from Georgia State University’s Usery Center for the Workplace, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that both sides are under “significant pressure” to reach a deal [before the union strikes]. “With the pressure that the two sides feel under, it’s very, very difficult for either side to blink, or to be perceived as blinking,” Hough said. “They may try to play it right up to the end.”

When you wake up on a chilly morning, ponder the fact that in the Genesis account of creation God didn’t provide us with one volt of electricity or a single watt of power. It was the creativity of man—exercising his capacity to “image” God—that harnessed the Earth’s energy, providing better ways to light and heat our homes. And it was the perversion of that image that caused Enron executives to hide the company's debt and inflate profits. Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling are now on trial for misleading investors and causing their own employees to lose every dime they’d worked to save, while each of them pocketed millions.

Most of us remember the scandals of a few years ago: Global Crossing, Tyco, Qwest, Mirant—each of these companies might have made the world better. They might have made life easier and more fulfilling. But instead their leaders and managers, having corrupted the image of God, filled the Earth with selfish ambition.

God’s Judgment on the Culture We’ve Created

It’s tragic, but perfectly predictable. It is, moreover, exactly what Isaiah perceived when he wrote, “For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low … against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2: 12-17).

Isaiah’s words don’t bode well for the products of human culture. Much of what man has made will be “brought low” and, reading from the perspective of our own time, we’d have to conclude that the “haughty” works of man—in business, government, and every other human institution—will one day be humbled. The discouraging truth is that from the day that our first parents were expelled from the Garden we, who were created to care for God’s creation, have filled it with garbage. And in the final accounting, God will burn it away.

Or will He? Flip ahead to Isaiah 60. There, the prophet describes the “Holy City”—transformed Jerusalem—a place that’s alive with all sorts of cultural activity. Isaiah, addressing the city itself, says, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn … Herds of camels will cover your land … all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you…the rams of Nebaioth will serve you.” And then, in verse nine, Isaiah says, “Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel … .” The ships of Tarshish, destroyed in chapter two, are mysteriously back. And in the Holy City, they bring honor and glory to God.

How is that possible?

According to Mouw, these ships were the big business of Isaiah’s day. They were a global brand transporting exotic merchandise to far-flung ports, symbols of commercial power and greed. They were the Nike, Google—and Enron—of the era. And yet “… the judgment that will visit the ships,” Mouw believes, “is of a purifying sort. We might think here of the ‘breaking’ of the ships of Tarshish as more like the breaking of a horse rather than the breaking of a vase. The judgment here is meant to tame, not destroy. It is not the ships, as such [that are destroyed], it is their former function that will perish.” God’s judgment purifies them; it smelts the haughtiness out of them, and frees them from their bondage to sin.

Transformed, Not Destroyed

Isaiah’s prophecy, seen from the vantage point of the 21st century, suggests that at the consummation of His kingdom, Christ will take the Enrons, WorldComs, and Tycos of the world and, in an act of cosmic redemption, transform them and put them to work for the sake of His glory. The idea is buttressed by Revelation 21. There, John hears a loud voice from a throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. … He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more … for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” Note here that Christ doesn’t make all new things. He does not annihilate the arrogant products of our culture. Instead, He transforms them. The Ken Lays and Bernie Ebbers of the world can scheme18 hours a day, seven days a week to expand their own empires. But in the end, their sinful efforts—and ours—will be redeemed by a gracious Savior and renewed for His glory.

We Dare Not Despise the Culture, We Instead Redeem It

Author and theologian Michael Wittmer points out that a Christian’s work in the world—whether it is paid or unpaid, in the home or at an office—is shaped by the tension of two compelling truths. First, we are surrounded by the sinful perversion of business, law, art, science, marriage, and family. And second, we know that Christ will, through His blood shed on the cross, reconcile every all these things to Himself.

Therefore, Wittmer says, we must always do double duty. Because we’re made in God’s image, we eagerly join with others—in every cultural enterprise—to take part in man’s journey from Eden to New Jerusalem. And because we are Christians, we strive to redeem every activity, every thought, every motivation and purpose—each step of the way. As new creatures in Christ we hate the sin that infects the culture. But we dare not reject or despise the culture. Instead, we begin to redeem it and—to the extent that we’re able— bring it closer to what God intended.

In his book Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, journalist Nathan Bierma quotes Robert McAfee Brown, who said, “God’s message is never: Turn away from this sinful world and find me somewhere else. God’s message is: Immerse yourselves in this sinful world that so desperately needs words and acts of healing, and you will find you are not alone, for I am already there, summoning you to help me.”

Christians at work in the secular world are not biding their time, waiting for eternal retirement. Rather, they are looking forward to the consummation of Christ’s kingdom when they will rule, fill, and subdue the Earth—free from every sin—and for no other reasons than to glorify God and love their neighbors.

Monday morning—in business offices and art studios—Christians are to be fully engaged in creating the world’s culture. Their work is to illustrate the cosmic scope of Christ’s redemptive plan. Their eight to 10 hours a day—in marketing, teaching, or governing—is, Bierma points out, a means of preparing themselves and the world around them for the end of worldliness. They are, as they make their way to work each morning, to ask God to transform them and their surroundings “from people and places of worldly pride to people and places of godly goodness.”

The coming of Christ, the restoration of all things, fulfilling the purpose for which we were made—in short, the consummation of the kingdom. This is the hope that Peter had in mind. And it is the hope that should be in full view every Monday morning.

Dick Doster is the editor of byFaith magazine.