Are You Called? Part 1

What is a call? What does it mean? How does it help us? Can wel be anchored in our calling? Our calling is most often understood by our work. But, it is much deeper and richer than that. Our callings in life, are Holy unto God. When you do the work you do you are doing something Holy.

So the question is, what is holy about work. Is any work truly Holy? Is being a Pastor more holy than being a garbage man? Most pastors and many garbage men might say YES. They would be wrong. If we understand the concept of work we can grasp the meaning of the holy in what we do every day. All work is Holy when it is part of our call.

Work - Vocation - Employment was written about a great deal in Martin Luther's booklet called, "The Freedom of the Christian".

The problem is when much of what Luther wrote about work which is so essential in today's world is lost in translation. For real. For instance, Luther wrote a paper called, "die Kichliche Gesamteausgabe" I speak enough German to know that those who translated that title into "Holy Orders" were not great German Scholars. The problem with language is that you can say things in one language that simply won't translate into another.

Holy Orders should have been translated "The totality of the missions and purposes within Christian pursuits that are callings and commands (Orders) of God".

OK, Holy Orders it is, but you see the problem. It doesn't translate.

When I lived in Germany a friend of mine (a Pastor) asked me "was ist ihre Beruf". Now in America we might ask, what do you do for a living? That isn't what he exactly asked me. Just as Luther was trying to help people understand the call of God in his writings regarding the work they did He was asking me what my Call was. He really was asking me, What is your calling, profession, occupation, work, who are you, vocation? Complex stuff.

Luther maintained accurately that God Calls and installs people to accomplish his missions on the earth.

I had an appendix attack. I believe in divine healing. God could have healed me on the spot. He did heal me.

• The Doctor analyzed my problem
• The Surgeon did an operation
• The Anesthesiologist gassed me
• The nurse helped me back to life
• A prescription was filled by a pharmacist to waylay any infection

SO, in this case, God healed me, but he wore the mask of the medical community in doing so. He used the Beruf of the professionals in getting me well.

We pray in the Lords prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread”.

He does:
This morning I had Cinnamon Toast.

• The farmer grew the wheat
• The trucker hauled it to the terminal
• The trainman drove it to the mill
• The millers ground it
• The Trucker hauled the flower to the baker
• The Baker baked it
• It was delivered by the Pepperidge Farm Guy
• The checkout lady took my money

Then I ate my God Given daily bread

My daily bread was provided by the beruf of many people doing what God called them to do. God wore a mask providing it.

We are all called to particular berufs. That's how God cares and governs his created order.

God

• Teaches thru Teachers
• Protects thru Firemen and Police
• Soldiers and Government control chaos
• And he provides beauty thru artists and musicians.

He uses each person in the various callings in their life to accomplish his purposes.

Oh sure, we can SIN in our beruf. The crooked store clerk who steals from his boss, the used car salesman who lies about the miles on the cars he sells. Flim flam is sin. It's a misuse of your calling from God. It is taking the name of the Lord in vain.

We all have at least 4 berufs in our lives. I think of 4 in particular for me:

1. Family - Husband, Father, Son
2. Work - Worker, Boss, Employee, Businessman
3. Community - Citizen, Taxpayer, Voter, Candidate, Official, Activist
4. Kingdom of God - Church, Helps, Worshipper, Giver, Teacher, Caregiver, Leader, Participant and even Minister

If we keep our eyes open we can see God all around in our lives wearing the mask of people fulfilling the calls in their lives. It's God in a Mask. Think of the waitress that waited on you, or the guy who bagged your groceries.

They are angels unawares. How we treat them is how we would treat God.

And conversely God is in us. Hidden to be revealed in out callings.

But remember, we can sin in our beruf.

• Parents can abuse children
• Doctors might abort babies
• Businessmen can be crooked
• And Government can be corrupt (even in Illinois)
  

It is SIN. But God can and is always in it. He can even use the error of sinful men to accomplish his purposes or Romans 8:28 isn't true.

Part Two:
How God uses generations to fulfill his call on families