Gospelbound Work and the Meaning of Life
Dec 30, 2025
David Bahnsen, founder of The Bahnsen Group and author of Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, delves into the intertwining of work and identity. He shares a personal story about finding purpose through work after losing his father. Bahnsen critiques the church's discomfort with ambition and emphasizes the biblical case for work as a creational purpose. He discusses the social consequences of declining male labor participation and rejects the notion of a zero-sum game between work and family. He also highlights the importance of in-person collaboration and the responsibilities that foster personal fulfillment.
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Finding Purpose After Loss
- David Bahnsen recounts losing his father at age 20 and pouring himself into work to find purpose.
- That work gave him calling and dignity during a traumatic season and shaped his vocational convictions.
Work Shapes Identity, Not Salvation
- Bahnsen distinguishes salvific identity from practical identity tied to vocation.
- He says professional work forms part of our human identity without determining salvation.
Work As A Creational Calling
- Bahnsen argues Genesis shows work is creational, not merely a post-fall consequence.
- Humans were made in God's image to cultivate, be fruitful, and co-create with God through work.