 Our pastors have been preaching through Genesis this fall. These sermons remind us that God intended for work to be good. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15. It made me think of my own life and whether I have been living it as if it was a calling from God. In one sermon, Chris shared that we are called to work and that we are to work hard with the hope of being blessed. God’s programming short circuits when we think blessings means wealth or we look for our identity in what we do instead of finding it knowing that we were created to be in a relationship with Him.  I have written in the past about the book, Finishing Well, by Bob Buford. A group of us are nearing the end of the book and are grappling with the words vocation and calling. These sermons came at a perfect time. It confirms that even though we might not be called into full-time ministry, God has a calling for our lives no matter our vocation. In the book, the author talks about men like Billy Graham and Peter Drucker. Reverend Graham https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Grahamwas certainly called into the ministry while Peter Druckerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker taught business principles and was described as “the founder of modern management”. When Bob Buford asked ServiceMaster founder Bill Pollard why Rev. Graham and Peter Drucker are his role models he replied, “The main thing is that they’ve done work all their lives that for them, wasn’t work at all. The commitment was to serve God and passionately serve others using the gifts God had given them. Most of you reading this blog have not been called into full time ministry. You have chosen some other type of vocation. That does not mean you don’t have a calling. It may be doing your job in a way that shows others your ultimate boss is the God of the universe not the pursuit of what the world wants you think is most important. You choose to work hard and achieve success without compromising on how God wants you behave in your occupation. Others of you pursue your calling outside your job. You participate in your church, serve in your community, or spend time in ministry efforts in your free time.  At the end of the day, I hope your goal is to have your time here on earth mean something. That while pursuing success, you stay focused on the significance your life will leave. That significance will go beyond whatever work you have been called into and will allow you to continue to make a difference after you leave the day to day work place. We can’t all be Billy Graham but rest assured, when you allow the love of God to flow out of you onto others, the ripple effect of that act will spread out much farther than you can ever imagine. What is our calling? Hebrews 12;1,2 states it this way. “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Thanks for reading along. I hope this has encouraged you in your faith journey. I can be reached by email at [email protected] God Bless! |
One Reply to “Understanding your Vocation and Calling”
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Yes! This is so rich Michael. Agreed. And realize that our callings to make Him know are all the same – our purpose in existence is too – to be in communion with our father. The vocation as you mentioned, the way in which we use our gifts & talents to make Him know and commune with Him will look different for every single one of us!