When I was studying at the Seminary, a few of us students went down to Morgan Street Brewery on Halloween night. The uncreative bunch we were, we went without thinking to dress up for the occasion. To our surprise almost everyone there was in costume. To our further surprise they were all dressed as priests or demons. It was as if this crowd had raided our closets. We could have just worn our clergy shirts and fit right in.
What were you for Halloween? Or better yet, what do you want to be when you grow up, finish college, or move on to something else? Picking a costume can be like picking a job. There are many vocations or callings out there: doctor, librarian, father, mother, teacher, athlete, and more. Just like costumes, we don’t all fit in all vocations, some are appropriate and others inappropriate. Let’s face it, for many this is a tough call. So what is God asking you to do with your life?
Martin Luther wrote: “All our work in the field, in the garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government–to what does it all amount before God except child’s play, by means of which God is pleased to give his gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere? These are the masks of our Lord God, behind which he wants to be hidden and to do all things.”
You don’t have to dress like a pastor, or be called as a pastor, to live out your faith and fulfill God’s plan for your life. When you do what you do as a mother, educator, businessperson, or researcher -done in faith in the Lord and in love for others, you are the mask of God, the means by which our Creator is providing for his people and creation.
How does God provide for others through you? Take some time and consider how your faith connects with your life, in your relationship with others and perhaps your occupation. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).
For further insight on vocation, check out God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life, by Gene Edward Vieth; Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey: and David Kinnaman’s recently published book, You Lost Me. And continue to read God’s Word for guidance in your life.
Have a great day in the Lord!
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