– Calling and Vocation –

Career & Work – the constellation of jobs encompassing one’s work life.  In Genesis 1:26-31 God ordains his image bearers to responsibly exercise dominion as sub-creators and stewards over all His creation. Some refer to this as the “great cultural mandate.”  Individuals in every society, culture, and circumstance are commissioned to work.  We all have “jobs” (sometimes this is employment). In some parts of the world, individuals have been blessed with greater resources, civil and personal freedoms, and opportunities to amalgamate their dutiful work with the full potential of their “imago dei” ordained gifts.

Imago Dei –  Every human is created in God’s image.  An image imbued with both individual and communal characteristics of the Triune God who is creator. Genesis reveals, “And God said, ‘Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves’ . . . So God created people in his own image: God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27, my italics added) We possess an essential dignity, rationality, intellect, and will. Also, by God’s common grace, he has bestowed unique and individually granted “birthright gifts” (abilities, talents, temperaments, and life circumstances) to every human—each of his image bearers. The writer of Psalm 139 poetically enjoins himself (and infused into all humanity) as being “knit together” by God “so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.” (Psalm 139:13-18) Jesus unwraps humanities’ full and complete identity in his final message to his disciples before he journeys to the cross.

Call – God’s universal, relentless pursuit of, and invitation to, his image bearers to respond to his relational call of restoration, redemption, and renewal of all things. Our response is one of surrender to Love God, love others, and to live holy lives.

Calling & Vocation – are the life-long, on-going invitation to respond to God’s summons to liberate within us our uniquely given talents and temperaments in the context of situationally provided resources. A calling comes from God and is intended to be obediently lived out as “to the one for many” in the arenas of our faith, work, family, and community (church). Our flourishing is manifest though our union with Christ and his ministry through us–to God’s glory and creation’s greater good.  We cannot necessarily seek God’s Calling. Rather, we are to know and experience God; discover God’s unique imprint and Imago Dei within ourselves; be prepared to hear his voice (in scripture, Holy Spirit produced inklings, relational communities, and God produced circumstances); and then respond through simple acts of obedience. Our “work vocation” is marked by contribution not compensation.

Simple Acts of Obedience – A call has two critical components — an invitation and a response. Our response begins with a simple act of obedience — a “yes” or a “no”.  Simple does not mean easy. Though the task or journey may be difficult or complicated our initial response is not. If the call is from God so will all the necessary faith and resources be provided by God.

Missio Dei – is the activity of God in working out his will in heaven as it is in earth. God has, for his own reasons, chosen to use us as his agents–his sub-creators in bring about all things new.  The imago Dei as lived out in each one of us is called to participate with God in his pursuit of redemption, restoration, and renewal of his creation.  When we respond to his invitational call with all the human gifts he has uniquely bestowed to within the community of the Church we live out our calling to its fullness.

– Invitation –

– Community in the Eternal Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit –

-Ravi Zacharias- 

– Be-Have –

– Abide and Abound –

– Sit . Do . Become –

– My Portrait of God –

– ikigai –