Vocation
The great Reformation doctrine of "vocation" is needed today
Our Daily
bread comes through "vocations"
The great Reformation doctrine of "vocation" is needed today
The practical reclamation of truth is not only a theological but
also a cultural task. The church must stop being shaped by the
culture and once again start shaping the culture. This does not
mean that the church should try to take over the kingdoms of
this world--that would mean more of the kind of cultural
religion we have today.
For Christians to influence the world with the truth of God's
Word requires the recovery of the great Reformation doctrine of
vocation. Christians are called to God's service not only in
church professions but also in every secular calling. The task
of restoring truth to the culture depends largely on our
laypeople.
To bring back truth, on a practical level, the church must
encourage Christians to be not merely consumers of culture but
makers of culture. The church needs to cultivate Christian
artists, musicians, novelists, filmmakers, journalists,
attorneys, teachers, scientists, business executives, and the
like, teaching its laypeople the sense in which every secular
vocation-including, above all, the callings of husband, wife,
and parent--is a sphere of Christian ministry, a way of serving
God and neighbor that is grounded in God's truth. Christian
laypeople must be encouraged to be leaders in their fields,
rather than eager-to-please followers, working from the
assumptions of their biblical worldview, not the vapid clichés
of pop culture.
Today's postmodern culture may seem formidable, but it is
floundering and sterile, admittedly without basis and without
direction. Christian culture-makers, whether as artists or as
parents, do have a basis and a direction. Through their
creativity, high standards, and sense of vocation, Christian
laity, properly prepared and supported, may well bring back
truth into the culture.
- Gene Edward Veith, Here We Stand, Catechesis,
Preaching, and Vocation (an essay from the book)
Our Daily
bread comes through "vocations"
God gives us this day our daily bread through the
vocation of farmers, millers, bakers, and — we would add — the
factory workers, truck drivers, grocery store employees, and the
hands that prepared our meal. God creates and cares for new life
by means of the vocations of mother and father, husband and
wife. He protects us by means of police officers, judges, the
military, and other Romans 13 vocations of those who “bear the
sword.” God brings healing not primarily through miracles but
through the vocation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and the
other medical vocations. God teaches through teachers, conveys
His Word through preachers, gives the blessings of technology
through engineers, and creates beauty through artists.
God works through all the people who do things for us, day by
day.
And He also works through us, in whatever tasks, offices, and
relationships He has called us to do.
- Gene Edward Veith, The Protestant Work Ethic,
Tabletalk Magazine
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