Stay in the marketplace
or move on to “full-time” ministry? How do we determine our calling?
Believers need not
fret when this issue arises. Missionary Norman Grubb has this bit of practical
advice:
Do not give a thought about how you should become a transformed
Christian and serve your community. Walk with God, not ahead or behind but
beside Him … accept yourself, be yourself, love yourself! He has mapped out His
plan for you even before you were born. So start by appreciating that you are a
special person and specially gifted by God. For what purpose? That is not your
business. That is God’s business. Get on with your daily occupation and put all
your heart into them … “Be still and know that I am God” … So be still; have
faith in God and enjoy Him until He opens the door where you are to serve Him.
Marketplace believers
need to embrace their “calling” positively * . Paul taught the principle of status quo — that everyone is to remain in the
same occupation he was in when he was converted (1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 24).
True religion does not seek to disrupt social order.
However, Paul’s
declaration is to be taken in a general sense, and not without qualification.
It does not forbid the believer from making a change in his profession if he or she is
convicted God may be calling him into full-time ministry or a different field in
the marketplace.
If he has an intimate
relationship with Him, he will come to know of God’s will — God will
confide in him, treating him as a friend (John 15:15, Psalms 25:14)
* Footnotes:
First, the sanctity of work needs to be rediscovered. Adam was given the task of tending the garden and subduing the earth even before he fell into sin. Work was not a curse in the beginning. It became a curse only after Adam sinned – “out of the sweat of your brow” you shall earn a living.
Embracing a positive work culture includes
working heartily “as unto God” and not out of eye-service when the boss is around,
going the second mile, demonstrating calmness amidst distress, pursuing
excellence, always finding ways to improve the system and living a life of
integrity.
When we shine like lights in the workplace, our colleagues and
superiors will be wondering what it is that makes us tick. This might then be
an occasion for verbal witness.
Related post:
SEEKING GOD’S WILL
When
we come to a fork or crossroad in life, we know we need guidance.
How can we know God’s will for our lives?
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