How Work in the Home Reflects God

3 Ways We Image Our Creator

I see three ways that we image our Creator in the physical work of the home.

1. We bring order out of chaos.

It is almost a no-brainer that you're bringing order out of chaos when there are toys all over the floor and you're restoring order, the refrigerator is growing mold in it and you're restoring order, or there are grass stains on the pants and you're restoring order. We restore order by keeping things clean and by keeping things orderly. It's not a form of legalism, it's actually bringing order to the world that God has made. And God is a God of order.

We are being God's hands and feet in a watching world that needs to be loved.

2. We are meeting the needs of people.

We are being God's hands and feet in a watching world that needs to be loved. Sometimes God rains manna down from heaven (we see that in the Bible), but then also sometimes God brings food to people through kitchens and through ordinary hands that make a meal for a hungry belly. We are meeting physical, tangible needs of people in very ordinary ways, but this helps people feel loved and cared for. People need to eat. People need clean clothes. We're meeting those needs.

Glory in the Ordinary

Courtney Reissig

This book combats misunderstandings about the value of at-home work to help moms see how Christ infuses glorious meaning and significance into every facet of ordinary life.

3. We are fruitful and multiply.

Often we think of that as only in bearing children, but when God gave the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply, he also wanted Adam and Eve to cultivate and keep the ground and the land that God had made. He made us to be workers.

We are fruitful and multiply when we do faithful, good work. The work that we do bears fruit in God's world, whether that's discipling our children, or loving our neighbor, or encouraging a friend who needs encouragement over a cup of coffee. We are loving people and multiplying the good work that God is doing in the world.

Courtney Reissig is a wife, mother, and writer. She has written for numerous Christian publications including the Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and the CT Women blog. She lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with her husband, Daniel, and their four sons.