I Must Be About My Father’s Business

Jesus was and is a faithful Son to the Father. One of my favorite lines in scripture is where He says to His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, “I must be about my Father's business”. Luke 2:49 KJV.  Jesus was ready, even from an early age, to do His Father’s will; He wanted to get to work. And that’s where His earthly parents lost Him. They didn’t realize who He was at His core — the Father’s Son ready to do His will and be about His business. And that should be the same perspective we have — I must be about My Father’s business. That’s what I’d like to talk about.

God has a business. God’s business takes precedence over ever other kind of business on earth. His business is the most important business. And we should have that kind of perspective when we are doing the work of God. Jesus did and He is our example. Jesus wasn’t only the perfect Son, He was also the Father’s best employee…ever. He is the One who worked harder and did more than any other person ever for the Father — He couldn’t wait to get to work. He was and is absolutely zealous about God’s work. And that’s our challenge — we should have the same work ethic as Him.

“To follow Christ, we must give up everything. That’s the price of our faith.”—Scott Wallis

The Apostle Paul, who saw Christ on his way to Damascus, had that same kind of work ethic — he said of himself, “I worked harder than all of them (speaking of the Apostles)”. 1 Corinthians 15:10, Berean Standard Bible. Often, people think being a pastor, preacher, prophet, apostle, evangelist, or teacher is an easy job. The truth is, we are called to work harder, do more, and have greater expectations placed upon us than any other job on earth. And rightly so. Every minister is called to be a faithful servant and son in the Father’s business. It’s a privilege and honor to serve God in that capacity. Never forget it!

Being a minister is a high calling and anyone who’s called into the ministry should treat their calling with that level of respect. In fact, every believer is called, anointed, and appointed by God. As believers, whether we are in full time ministry or not, should be faithful to God’s call on our lives. That means, being in church on Sunday morning, being at prayer on Wednesday evening, volunteering, when and if possible, to do something at church, preparing a meal for someone, giving a ride to someone who wants to go to church, and doing “good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10, ESV.

And that’s where most believers stop. They don’t show up to church ready to work. Rather, they come to relax. They think, “it’s time for me to sit back and relax and I’ll let everyone else do the work, especially the pastor.” And that’s where the Church stands. We have become a bunch of lazy bums, sitting, waiting for someone else to do something for God. Most believers claim they want to serve, that is, until it costs them something. Yet, that’s the price we pay for doing the Father’s will and being about the Father’s business. Yes, it costs us something — our time, energy, and money. 

That’s where most people stop — the money. If it costs them something, anything, it must not be of God, they think. We have become so full of a gospel that costs us nothing that we give nothing to it — it’s a waste of money, many people think. Did you see what that preacher spent on that?, we say. Did you see how much they’re getting?, we think. We never consider the cost of what they gave or what they gave up? And believe me, every minister gives up something to do what they do. It costs them time, energy, and money. And at the end of the day, they have to show up (with their family) week after week, month after month, to do God’s work. And yet, we have it hard tithing, serving, or praying?

I think we need a radical readjustment in our understanding of the gospel. Yes, the gospel is freely given to be freely received. But it costs us everything to follow Christ. Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24, NLT. To follow Christ, we must give up everything. That’s the price of our faith.  And yet, few teach that anymore. Most believers have no idea that it costs them  what they have to get what God has for them. To serve God means being willing to give up everything for Him — to give Him our all. 

I want to ask you: Have you found the pearl of great price? Jesus, in Matthew 13:45, 46, NLT, says, “the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” Notice, the man is a merchant. In other words, he was in business and about his business. Today, we’re about everyone else’s business. What we need to do is be about the Father’s business. We should be searching for the pearl of great price. How do we know when we’ve found it? When we’re willing to give up everything for it.

There is no price we should not and would not be willing to pay for the pearl. Truth is, the pearl costs us everything. And the reason we’re willing to pay everything to get it is the future security it provides. The man who found the pearl was a businessman. Yes, he made the calculation in his mind by asking the question none of us wants to admit we ask — Is what I do for God worth it?! The obvious answer is, yes. Nevertheless, we often convince ourselves it isn’t worth it. How foolish?! We give up our faith because it costs us a little or we stub our toe. And what that means is, we haven’t found the pearl, we haven’t yet truly discovered who Christ really is.

Jesus isn’t another god. No, He’s God. And as God, He’s worthy of all we have. That’s the gospel. The gospel starts and ends with Him. But it’s not cheap to follow Him. No, it requires everything. We must be willing to give our all to fulfill His call. That’s the price of entry into the Father’s business. I want to ask you, Are you willing to pay that price? If not, you don’t truly understand the gospel of Christ and you haven’t entered the Father’s business yet. But there’s still time for you. You can join the family business anytime. How? There’s one price everyone must pay to enter the family business — everything!

Now, I must get back to doing my Father’s business. How about you?! 

Let us pray!

—Scott Wallis