1.22.2007

On Vocation

One of my Christmas break reads was God at Work by Gene Edward Veith. I have read other books on vocation, like The Call by Os Guinness, but this book was a bit different. Guinness's book focuses on finding your calling in life, but Veith, who works from a Lutheran idea, focuses on embracing the calling you already have in Christ. I appreciated how he emphasized that callings: a) change with life b) are for the here and now, and c) are whatever God is asking you to do for the moment, whether it is as a worker, student, mother, or citizen.

I have been struggling with my calling recently, being very unsatisfied in my schooling and career choice and feeling a bit lost as to what to do next. God at Work had two very important things to say to me.

1. It convicted me.
Veith addresses sin in vocation by saying anything we do outside of our calling is a violation of what God has called us to do. We sin through disobedience and restlessness.

2. It encouraged me.
Veith talks about the temptations we face in our callings, and how trials are inevitable. We fail; check. We want to quit; check. We get discouraged; check. These are the crosses we must bear in our callings. Things that go against our will, he says, are the crosses we're called to bear. When we're in the midst of bearing crosses; check, we pray. "However God chooses to answer our prayers, whether by changing the situation or by changing us, we have given the outcomes over to Him. Our part is to carry out our vocations." Heaven only knows how much I would love a shift in vocations right now, but it was an encouraging reminder that if I am earnest in prayer, God will either change my situation or He will change me. No other option necessary.

I also appreciated what Veith had to say about finding God in our vocation.

Luther goes so far as to say that vocation is a mask of God. That is, God hides Himself in the workplace, the family, the Church, and the seemingly secular society. To realize that the mundane activities that take up most of our lives are hiding places for God can be a revelation in itself. Most people seek God in mystical experiences, spectacular miracles, and extraordinary acts they have to do. To find Him in vocation brings Him, literally, down to earth, makes us see how close He really is to us, and transfigures every day life.


So it's off to another day of seeing how God will use me in my current vocation. How will He use you?

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