Especially in the church. Yes, the church. That body of individuals whose identities should be in Christ, who are working unto the Lord.
The "calling" craze drives us to read the Purpose Driven Life and every John Piper book in existence. We secretly hope to find a hidden sentence, authored by God, telling us exactly what to do. We think that we can grasp God's fullest potential for our lives through the clean-cut label of a calling.
In pursuit of the calling, we try to figure out where we will be most productive for God's kingdom. We take inventories to pinpoint our strengths and our spiritual gifts. We focus on ourselves.
Without realizing it, Christ followers have exchanged knowledge of God's true will for our culture's self-centered, productivity-driven view of intentional living.
Instead of learning more about ourselves, maybe we should seek to learn more about our Master.
If we really knew Him, we would know that God can work powerfully through our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:19). We would accept that he may lead us somewhere that we really don't want to go (John 21:18; Jonah). We would humbly realize that we can't produce or do anything for God through our efforts; rather, God works through us to fulfill our righteous desires for goodness and works of faith (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).
Don't get me wrong. Productivity isn't a bad thing. God himself gave us the ability and desire to work. Solomon, the wisest man in existence, concluded that life is better when we find pleasure in our work (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25). Employment provides a great venue for showing Christ's love to the lost, and it provides the financial means to give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
It is a blessed appointment to serve within the church or on the mission field. It is a holy opportunity to ministry to people in the workplace. Christian should strive to excel in their work to bring glory to the Lord. However, your specific profession is not your primary calling—and neither is service in the church.
Our primary calling is a growing relationship with God.
We forget that good works without a growing relationship with God are empty. In fact, anything without a growing relationship with God is empty—including the pursuit of a seemingly meaningful calling.
A relationship with God is the only way that we can know his will for our lives. We can only have a relationship with Him by growing in our knowledge of Him.
Growth of knowledge was Paul's foremost prayer for the church (Ephesians 1:16-19; Philippians 1:8-11; Colossians 1:9-10).
Colossians 1:9-10 // "We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God."
We need to have knowledge of the Lord to be effective as his laborers.
We've underestimated God's calling. God's calling for our lives is so much more than just a profession—it's the opportunity to know Him.
It is only through relationship with the Lord that you can discover His perfect plan for every part of life.
I hope that you will join me as I further explore Christian identity within our culture and God's calling for all believers. Most of all, I am excited to continue to grow in the knowledge of our Lord!