I would like to leave you with a vocational thought today. Vocations are something we easily understand. However in our world today vocations change much more than they did in the past. As I understand, the average worker these days will have two or more vocational applications in his or her lifetime. I was amazed to learn years ago that few folks found their vocations in fields for which they trained in college.
Our vocations have to do with the labor that we focus upon in order to earn a living. And really it is a great challenge to give our best in adapting to and applying ourselves to achieve success in our chosen vocations. This challenge however has a greater complexity for the followers of Jesus Christ due to the fact that we carry two vocations.
Not only are we required as the followers of Christ to earn a living for ourselves and our families, we are also required to carefully follow and obey Christ for the benefit of His purposes in this world. We are required to join these two vocations or focuses in a harmonious fashion. Allow me to quote a couple portions of Scripture on this subject:
Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Matthew 10:38-39 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Through the years I have found that many of God’s people have had difficulty with this dual focus. To carry both in harmony is a challenge indeed. It requires a stress of priorities and values. Most certainly it is our secular vocation that ought to bear the burden of compromise. How are you doing with your vocations?
