God at Work
God works through his creatures. Considering that God can accomplish anything—all things—without the help of any tool or instrument, it seems odd that He so often accomplishes His work through human beings. But it is actually central to His plan in pouring out His grace!
Consider Peter’s admonition:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as stewards of God’s varied grace; whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
(1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV)
Peter instructs God’s creatures—us—that our gifts are God’s grace for others. We hold these gifts, not for ourselves, but for our neighbors, as “stewards.” A steward is one who holds another’s property to use as the other directs. As stewards, then, we don’t “own” this grace, God does—so it is truly His to give, not ours. That’s why Peter says that “one who speaks” is speaking God’s words (“oracles”) and that one who serves, serves by God’s strength and for His glory.
We sometimes say that God gives us gifts so that we can love our neighbors. That’s true, but it might be even more accurate to say that God gives us gifts as the means by which He loves our neighbors. He uses us as His instruments to love people!
This fact—that God pours out His grace and love on the world through human instruments—is the basis of the doctrine of vocation.
Creatures at Work
Vocation, from the Latin for “calling,” simply recognizes the reality that God “calls” us to diverse roles and jobs and gives us varied gifts and capacities to pour out His grace to the world around us.
Gene Edward Veith summarizes:
God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other. This is the doctrine of vocation.
Gene Edward Veith, God at Work 14 (Crossway 2002).
Why Vocation?
Vocation is an often-neglected doctrine, but it can really help us think more clearly about our relationship with God and our neighbors.
For one thing, identifying our callings helps us discern our duties to those around us. For example, my calling as a husband or as a father tells me something about my obligations in relationships. A father has different obligations to his children than he has to others’ children, and a husband has different obligations to his wife than to others.
God defines our duties by calling us to particular work or roles. And this is true in ordinary work as well. Our callings include our occupations, like lawyer, architect, landscaper, babysitter, or restaurant owner.
In short, every Christian has multiple vocations:
- In our work – God loves our clients, customers, co-workers, and bosses through our specific tasks, roles, and jobs.
- In our family – God loves our spouses, children, siblings, and neighborhoods through our vocation as husband or wife, father or mother, brother or sister.
- In our education – God loves our neighbors as we learn and teach.
- In our local congregation church – God loves our brothers and sisters in the body as we teach, serve, care for children, or serve as an elder.
- In our country – God loves our neighbors through our vote or public service.
Why Think Vocationally?
As we develop a biblical understanding of vocation, we are reminded of God’s hand in all of life.
- It reminds us of our purpose. God has given each of us specific gifts, talents, and aptitudes, and He has prepared “good works for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). So, identifying our neighbors and their needs in relation to our gifts gives us a clear picture of how God wants to use us to love those around us. This is central to our purpose of loving God and loving our neighbor.
- It reminds us that there is a spiritual dimension to life beyond Sundays, including our work, family, and citizenship. God is pouring out His grace in the world, and He wants to use us in every area of culture and life! It helps us realize that what we’re doing with our hands—whether it’s mowing lawns, working in a restaurant, scooping ice cream, babysitting, or being a lawyer, architect, or doctor—is actually God’s ministry of love and grace to those around us.
- It reminds us of the command to love our neighbors. This is the crux of the doctrine of vocation. We are called to love others with our gifts!
God is at Work
We are blessed by serving others—and at the same time, we are blessed through others’ gifts and talents, as our neighbors serve us.
God is at work, loving us and our neighbors.
Seeing this clearly gives us a great sense of freedom. It helps us to not worry about tomorrow or what we might do “someday.” Instead, we can rest in God’s provision, focusing on the people God has given us to love today, right in front of us, in our home, our family, and our neighborhood.