Daniel Bondeson
I love the work that I do. As a scientist, I peer into the unseen world of how our bodies and their trillions of cells wondrously function. This delightful adventure sometimes culminates in new discoveries that my team gets to share with the world. At its best, the lab is a place of worship, but I often find myself falling into one of two traps.
The first is the Babel trap, which is me looking to my work for an identity and security that it was never meant to provide. I’m tempted to use my work for my own fame. It’s a convention of modern science that my team is called "The Bondeson Lab", which is an honor, but one that can quickly swell my pride.
And the second is the Hevel trap, when I fall into despair that my work is irredeemably futile and that any attempt at progress is truly ''herding the wind.'' I have been called into the careful observation of God’s world, but progress on this path is often arduous and full of dead ends.
So how do I avoid these two traps and return to a place of worship?
On Sunday mornings, we have the opportunity to pick up a small wooden token on our way into the sanctuary and drop it into the offering basket. The token is a tangible representation of all that we bring to the altar: the joys, successes, hurts, sins, and failures of our lives.
I've gotten into the habit of carrying a token in my pocket throughout the week. And I've found that when I'm vacillating between Babel and Hevel, the simple message on the token can dramatically change my heart:
"Of your own have we given you."
The lab, the budget, and the discoveries are all His, given to me to steward and invest for His kingdom. They were never mine to begin with.
But what about the rejected grants, failed experiments, and hard interactions with colleagues? The token reminds me that He is at work in the midst of these disappointments too. He can use even failure and frustration to form me, and He empowers me to walk as an ambassador for Christ.
Then, on Sunday morning, I bring the week’s token and drop it into the offering basket. There, it joins all of yours in the collective offering of the people of God. The basket is full of the hopes, joys, and disappointments of the past week, even our Babel-building. As we watch the basket carried to the front, prayed over, and placed on the altar, we know that our good Father has seen every effort we’ve made and receives it all. He forgives what needs to be forgiven and delights in what He Himself has given. These small tokens are covered in grace and somehow caught up into Christ's own offering.
No matter what we bring, there is a feast waiting for us.
Daniel Bondeson is an Assistant Professor at UMass Chan Medical School. He and his wife Gentley have attended CotC since 2023.