What Jesus said as a boy of 12 should be echoed by every believer: "I must be about My Father's business" (Lk. 2:49). Yet how many who claim to be God's children by faith in Christ are actively engaged in the service of God their Father?

To be a success in business seems to be the driving passion of many people. They approve and practice the philosophy of inventor and automobile tycoon Henry Ford: "I do not believe a man can ever leave his business. He ought to think of it day by day and dream of it by night. . . . Thinking men know that work is the salvation of the race morally, physically, socially. Work does more than get us a living; it gets us life."

Men and women who live by that philosophy need to consider the words of Jacob Marley, the repentant ghost in Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. He cried out, "Business! Mankind [should have been] my business. The common welfare, . . . charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence [should have been] my business."

Add to this the responsibility of sharing the gospel (2 Cor. 5:20) and you have a business agenda that meets the approval of our Father. Is that your agenda?  — Vernon C. Grounds