Q:
I've always heard about being "called" to the ministry or "called" to be a missionary, but recently I heard a Bible teacher on the radio say that our career is also a calling from God, no matter what we do. What do you suppose he meant?
A:
I suspect he was underlining an important biblical truth: God has a plan for each of us, and it involves every detail of our lives — including our careers. The Bible urges us to “retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him” (1 Corinthians 7:17).
Many people, I’m afraid, go through life hating their jobs or simply putting in time. But when we understand that God has given our work to us, we’ll want to do it faithfully and diligently. And when we know we’re in God’s will, we’ll find our work is no longer a burden, but one of the ways God has given us to serve Him. The Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24). A Christian plumber or nurse should feel just as called to their job as a minister or missionary.
The Bible, however, tells us two other important truths about God’s call. First, it tells us that God is calling us to repent of our sins and commit our lives to Jesus Christ. Have you heard His call, and have you yielded your life to Christ?
Second, God also is calling us to live for Christ and for eternity, and not for the passing pleasures of this world. Make it your goal to live for Christ — in everything you do.