Are you Called? - Part 2

I remember the funeral of my Grandmother. The church was packed. She had lived a rich full life. She and her late husband had a lot of children. They were all there, with a slew of her grandchildren, and a passel of great-grandchildren. Add in the spouses of the generations, nieces and nephews and their children.

The church was pretty much filled with family, all coming before God to commend her back to him. I visited the grave at that little country cemetery a few weeks back. I stood and thought what if? This is the church our family built when they came from Germany and settled in South Dakota. It's closed now.



What if she had not met or married her husband in the late 1800s, what if they had not gotten married. Most of the people in that Lutheran Church would not have existed from the middle-aged grandparents to the little kids squirming in the pews. The union of those two has had consequences they could never have dreamed about, leading to untold lives down thru the generations, untold marriages and untold new children being born.

Businesses were created, political figures emerged, food was produced, communities were led, churches ministered in, all people called by God out of a family calling.

God could have done this by divine creation; he could have repopulated the earth each time a new generation passed without using humans. But he uses humans, procreation, and parenthood.

That’s why the fourth commandment exists. The foundation of all of the law regarding man to man comes from this. All authority roots from the concept of parenting. We have lost much of that in our society but it’s time to get it back.

We understand that Family Beruf is important. But what about the more mundane.

Can we understand a ministry of cleanliness as is executed by those who are called to that work?

• Those who collect our thrash
• Those who fix our plumbing
• Those who clean our toilets
• Those who clean up after you in hotel rooms
• Those who maintain your school or church

This is the way God deals with your environment. Those people if they know it or not are called with a gift of work to minister cleanliness for you and yours.

Your Beruf is a GIFT from God. Unfortunately not everyone sees it that way. That happens because we don’t hear the call of God in our work. It happens because we are told:

1. Study Hard
2. Get Good Grades
3. Graduate from a Good College
4. Get a Good Job with a Good Pension
5. And LUMP IT. Hate every day of the drudgery they call work.

One of the greatest mental health issues psychiatrists deal with in the world today is people who hate the work they do. This is a crime. God wants so much more for us.

What God wants for you is that your heart sings in your calling, in your Beruf. It is your highest and best calling when the following are true:

1. It’s something you love
2. It’s something you are accomplished at
3. It’s something you know and understand well
4. It’s something you see thru the big picture purpose
5. It’s something you would do even if you weren’t paid to do it

That is your calling. And it will change over time. God will change the call on your life. He gives new calls for his purposes. When he does you will know it’s him and respond.

This isn’t about our immersion in Jesus. That NEVER changes.

But things do change:

• Family calls change (Empty nest, divorce, widowhood)
• Churches (you are always a member of the body but different churches)
• Government and Community (Parties in power, laws)

And
Today’s 21st Century Graduates are now told to expect at least 5 career changes in their lifetimes. Not 5 job changes. 5 total new and different occupations.

I think I’ve had 10. Most people I know have had at least 3.

So, the idea that our call from God is static (Unchanging) is flawed.

The question we must ultimately ask ourselves is do I give Glory to God in my Beruf?

• In my Family – do I operate as the face and hands of Jesus?
• In my Community - Do I take part, do I vote, do I do my duty?
• In my Church – Am I there, am I part of it, does it matter?
• In my Beruf – How do I glorify God in what I do

I believe that scripturally we glorify God best when we exhibit 3 primary characteristics:

1. Integrity
2. Diligence
3. Focused attention on work

I am constantly frustrated by Christians who use the boss’s time to initiate Bible study on the job, have a big booming Bible on the desk, Fill their cubicle or work area with pictures of Jesus, crosses and scripture verses, They spend time they get paid for praying and not working (receive the Holy Ghost and pray in tongues, you can then do both).

Some Christians are so busy handing out tracts to fellow workers getting them saved they are a poor employee. I want to see us witness to others by who we are. An epistle read by all men.

The fact is, if we know our calling, if we know who we are, we will walk in confidence and authority. The phone should ring at churches across the nation by bosses asking for more Christians to hire.

There is an apocryphal story about a priest who lived in a small town a century back in Europe. It was a Jewish community. One day as this priest walked thru town he spotted a young man who was guarding a home. The priest asked him who he worked for. The young man explained.

As the priest walked away the young man asked him, “Rabbi, Who do you work for”. The Priest was flustered and said, “I don’t work for anyone” and walked on. A few minutes later the Priest returned and asked the young man if he would consent to go to work for him. The young man pondered and said sure.

Asking what his duties would be of the Priest, The Priest said, “To ask me every day who I work for”.

He didn’t want to ever again forget. Let us do the same.