In Paul’s famous words, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile 
”[1] Can we say the same for work that Paul says about faith? Without the resurrection of Jesus do our earthly endeavors amount to nothing in the grand scheme of existence? As Darrell Cosden asks in The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work, “Is there any real lasting or ‘eternal’ value in our work?”[2] Cosden answers, “Our everyday work (whether paid or unpaid) actually matters and makes a difference—not just in the here and now, but also for eternity. Work, and the things that we produce through our work, can be transformed and carried over by God into heaven.”[3]

In making his case, Cosden echoes insights that Dutch theologian and former prime minister, Abraham Kuyper made over a century ago in his seminal work on Common Grace. Says Kuyper:

If nothing of all that developed in this temporal life passes over into eternity, then this temporal existence leaves us cold and indifferent. ... By contrast, if that rich and variegated development of our human life contains something that passes over into eternity, then the temporal obtains abiding significance.[4]

Cosden also joins rank with the more recent work of N. T. Wright who concludes:

Jesus is raised, so God’s new creation has begun—and we, his followers, have a job to do! ... What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future.[5]

Neither Wright, Kuyper, or Cosden argue that our work in the here and now will hasten or bring about God’s future.[6] All three argue from Scripture that only Jesus has the sovereignty and mandate to usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth. But each argues that our work “actually matters” (Cosden), “obtains abiding significance” (Kuyper), and “will last into God’s future” (Wright), and this hope, for all three, is anchored in the historic reality of Jesus’ bodily resurrection.[7]

To appreciate Wright, Kuyper, and Cosden’s poin