Calling=Job? Calling > Job?

Is there such a thing as calling?

Perhaps you have that one friend who is absolutely passionate about their work - “I always knew I was called to be a doctor!” Or maybe you are surrounded by people who feel otherwise – “Doesn’t calling make my choice void? I’m just walking into something pre-decided.”

Given that we do invest a great portion of our lifetime into work, one often considers work as a place to create meaning and reap fulfilment. At the same time however, many misconceptions surround the nature of calling. Possibly, the greatest myth of them all is that your calling is a job.

In a recent article on Relevant, Dan Cumberland clarifies that our jobs are but an opportunity to express our calling, and is not the calling itself.

Adding onto this, the Bible gives us an example of calling, and the higher purpose behind it.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’

                And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’

Isaiah 6:8

Here, we see Isaiah responding to God’s call to send out His message that ultimately gives Him the glory. In the same vein, we ought to seek God’s glory in our work! The fact is we may end up working different jobs throughout our lifetime, some which we love and others which frustrate us, and more often than not, a mix of both. On the other hand, our calling does not change.

For man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Fleeting or gripping fears?

Anxious about tomorrow’s board meeting? Scrambling to seal client negotiations? Troubled by workplace relationships? These are only some of the many concerns faced at the workplace on a daily, if not regular basis.

An article published by Forbes outlines five things employees fear most throughout their career: bad boss, ineffective senior leadership, no mentors, did not reach full potential, and job security. While these fears are valid to a certain extent, I wonder if they are initial natural concerns or deep-seated fears.

If they are the latter, it begs the question, “Why am I so afraid? What exactly is my motivation?”

‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.’ – Colossians 3:23-24

Paul reminds us that our primary motivation should in fact be to honour Jesus Christ. One might argue that we work to provide for ourselves and family, so the motivation is to supply finances. That is true on the surface level of work, but our entire lives as Christians are subject to Jesus so our work is for His sake. With this mindset, our fears about career goals and fulfilment can be balanced and eventually dissolved into a heart that learns greater trust in God. If anything, we look forward to receive the inheritance spoken about, accepting that these fears are fleeting just like the present age.

What are your fears? Do they control and influence how you go about doing work?

Do you worship work? Or is work your worship to God?

All things reconciled through Him

One of the most exciting sentences ever uttered is surely this: “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Followed by the call to repent and believe, because as things stand, without the cleansing of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, we are not fit for that kingdom.

However, quite how we are to understand the ‘at hand’ presence of the kingdom after the ascension of Jesus is debated.

This is particularly relevant to the question of work. Some suggest that we should understand our work - as a public servant, entrepreneur, mother, doctor, cleaner - as related to the kingdom. When done well, and in the name of Jesus, perhaps it ‘foreshadows’ the kingdom, is a ‘foretaste’ of the kingdom, or even is a ‘bringing in’ or ‘building’ of the kingdom?

Actually, it is very difficult to find in the New Testament, any statement that connects our work with the kingdom this way.

I want to suggest an alternative way to conceive of our work within the purposes of God.

In Col 1.20, Paul writes that “through [Jesus Christ] God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross”.

This is a magnificent statement of the cosmic proportions of the reconciling work of the cross of Christ, and corresponds perfectly to the cosmic Lordship of Jesus Christ as the one in whom all things hold together, precisely because he is the one through whom and for whom all things were created in the first place.

So here’s my suggestion. 

Should we understand the ‘all things’ to include not only individual human beings, but also social structures, cultural expressions, industries and economies. That certainly seems to be on view in the way that Paul expands what he means by all things in v.16. Walter Wink suggests the catalogue of visible and invisible things could be paraphrased as “seats of power, or spheres of influence … incumbents-in-office or the legitimations and sanctions that keep them there - all these social and spiritual structures of reality are stamped with [Christ’s] imprint and exist solely to serve his purposes” (Naming the Powers, loc 748 of the Kindle version - whilst I disagree with some of Wink’s conclusions, his analysis of this language seems very insightful). 

And if that’s the case, then perhaps the way we can see our work is like this. By making peace through the blood of Christ’s cross, God has reconciled banking and architecture and the arts and media and transportation and plumbing and construction - and everything else - to himself. Our task as those who work in these sectors is then to take up the challenge to understand what it means for that part of ‘all things’ to live in that reconciliation, and then to play our role in that with full energy and commitment. 

And enacting that divinely established reconciliation in our workplaces gives dignity, clarity of purpose and substance to all our work!

Andrew Katay

Gotham 2015 Kicks Off

Forty three participants from six churches gathered for the Gotham Kick Off Retreat at Springwood, Blue Mountains over 13 to 15 February.

It was exciting to see nine members from the Dalby Presbyterian Church travel approx. 1,000 kilometres to be there, along with their brothers and sisters from four Sydney churches and one church from Wollongong.

City to City Australia's CEO, Andrew Katay, opened the retreat by welcoming participants and framing the program as an intensive experience to study, explore, debate and reflect on those things at the heart of a Gospel Dynamic, which shapes the whole of our lives.

"This is not just a program, this is an experience, covering heart renewal, community renewal and cultural renewal."

Andrew also welcomed the Australian Centre for Faith's principal sponsor, Reventure, represented by CEO, Lindsay McMillan and City to City Australia's Chair, Wendy Simpson, both of whom shared the crucial nature of bringing a Christ-focussed perspective to the marketplace of our work lives.

Those who will be taking up Gotham this year represent a wide variety of careers and industries, including teaching, medicine, para medical, youth work, engineering, business development, sales, electrical contracting, IT, Not for Profit management, accounting, agriculture, agronomy, administration, small business, law, data analytics and community development.

To learn more about Gotham for your church, contact Gabriel Lacoba at gabriel@citytocityaustralia.org.au

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All human beings long for transcendence. The yearning for something holy, something that we currently experience, can be the spark for much of our work. But what if our longing falters and our imagination fades? And how does our common longing for what's transcendent shape communities and industries? Author and cultural commentator, David Brooks, sheds new light on the reality of our common longings and the hope that it bears for our society.

Redefining Work

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