This morning I diverted from Philippians to study how to know God's will for my life. I found a quote this morning from the book Education page 138:
To every man is given "his work" (Mark 13:34), the work for which his capabilities adapt him, the work which will result in the greatest good to himself and to his fellow men, and in greatest honor to God. Ed 138
This is a very meaningful passage to me right now. I am considering what I should do with my life and how I should prepare for my work. What I learned from this passage is that to each is given his or her work; a work that they can do better than any other work. It is that work that will result in the greatest good to themselves as Christians, to others , and it is the work in which they will most honor God.
Further, that my work may be something that no one else does. In the past, the Seventh-day Adventist church has had the philosophy that the only professionals need where ministers, educators, and those in the medical field. That view has passed now to the point that almost any calling is valid if you can serve God in the field. Yet, those professions without the goal in mind of saving souls are of no value. The following is from Christ's Object Lessons pages 326-327:
To His servants Christ commits "His goods"--something to be put to use for Him. He gives "to every man his work." Each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God. COL 326, 327
Pastor Mark Finley once said at an ASI convention that the Christ doesn't need plumbers and lawyers and store owners who evangelize, Christ needs evangelists that plumb and practice law and own stores. The focus is to be on evangelism, not the business or profession, even in the business and professional world. The principle is summed up aptly in the words of William Carey (1761-1834), missionary to India: “I cobble shoes to pay expenses but soul winning is my business.”
So what I am still wrestling with is the question of occupations: is every occupation a valid one provided that it is only to cover the expenses? And just how involved should you be? AFM has a neat little saying, "Some are players, some are payers, and some are prayers." Which one should I be? Should we all be players, working personally one the front-lines of some foreign field? Or can I simply pay my way, working full-time in America at a comfortable office job and yet sending generous donations to those on the front-lines? Or should I be a prayer, laboring on my knees for those who are the players?
I am still working on this question. I will post an update when I have an answer. . .
God Bless!
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2 comments:
I resonate with the false idea that to work for God you have to be a preacher, teacher, or doctor. That is simply untrue. But I don't think, anymore, that a "secular" profession is only good pay for evangelistic activities. God created work for everyone to do. And he created everyone to like work. Every calling can be fulfilling, as well as useful to God. In the pastoral profession I have to learn not to confuse my tasks of Bible study, preaching, and praying as personal spirituality. I do think that being a pastor helps me take personally spiritual more seriously. So in a sense, it is a "crutch," and I'm not proud of that.
One thing I'm really grappling with is the presence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said over and over, "the Kingdom is near, the Kingdom is now." Our Adventist focus on evangelism and end-times has the effect of causing us to miss Jesus' message for the here and now. God's Kingdom is more that heaven. It starts now. But what does that mean? Does that mean there is more to serving God than evangelism? Does that mean that we are failing to participate fully in the present blessings of the kingdom? Does that mean that life is not about getting somewhere, it is about being somewhere? I donno. Good to see you blogging! Keep it up!
I think though that God's kingdom is not of this world. It is that realization that motivates us to work/evangelize/spread the gospel, the good news, so that we can go home. Remember the tune, "I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home..."
But you are correct that we shouldn't live as though we only have a glorious hope, we have a power-filled present. To be in the center of the Lord's will for me is my complete desire. That includes the present, not just the future.
David Asscherick had a powerful message at GYC called "What do you expect." His basic premise was that we go around saying the Lord did great things for His people in the past and we know that He will do great things in the future, but we don't realize that God wants to do great things NOW! Not just for our ancestors, not for our descendants, but for US RIGHT NOW!!!
You bring up a good point and I appreciate the feedback!
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