Are you trying to figure out your calling?  When I hear the word calling, I cannot help but think of a funeral wreath I once saw.  The wreath was on a tripod stand next to the open casket.  Mounted on the wreath was a telephonethe old rotary kind.  Across this wreath was a ribbon that said, God called.

To be sure, none of us want that kind of call any time soon.  Nonetheless, many times we find ourselves fixated on the question of our call for this side of glory.  Are you sitting by the telephone waiting for God to call and tell you what you are supposed to do with your life? Hopefully what He tells you will be at least somewhat more enjoyable than a funeral.  Is this what a calling is?

There are several problems with using the word calling to describe our God-given vocational mission.

First, it is not Biblical.  In scripture calling almost always refers to a call to salvation, not vocation.  Salvation is one telephone call you dont want to miss.  But after that, dont wait around for a second ring to tell you what to do next.  God has already spoken.  He spoke through the precepts of His Word, the Bible.  Follow His wisdom found there and you will not go wrong on whatever specific vocational option that you choose.

Second, although God definitely wants to guide us in our work lives, he rarely does so through direct special revelation. If you are waiting to hear an audible voice to get your answer, dont hold your breath.  God most clearly reveals His vocational plan for our lives through His built-in design.  God also spoke through His creation.  We are His craftsmanship, the creation of His hands.  He gave you your gifts, talents, passions and desires.  These were not accidents.  They reveal His intention.  Every design configuration has an optimal usage.  Optimize your design.  As one book title suggests, Do what you are.  Be who He made you to be.  That is all He wants us to do.  If He gave you wings, then fly.

Third, the idea of a calling is singular.  It implies that there is one and only one thing that God wants us to do for the rest of our life. This idea of a person having a singular preordained calling in life comes from the historical baggage of the word.  A long time ago, society was viewed as a God-endorsed social hierarchy.  Everyone had a station in life.  One should be content with that whatever it was.  Finding and being faithful to that station was a moral imperative.  Changing vocations mid-stream was viewed as a sign of a character flaw or a lack of virtue.

Many people in the Bible, however, did a variety of things over the course of their lives.  David started out as a shepherd before he was diverted to become a king.  Paul was a religious ruler who later in life had to take up tent-making to get by.  Jesus was a carpenter who in His thirties made a career change to become an itinerant messiah.  God may have a number of things for us to do at different stages of our life.  God never said his path would be a straight line.

When Steve Jobs built the first Apple computer, he had the signatures of all its designers inscribed on the inside of the computers cover.  You have a design written on you as well.  What do you do well? Do you teach, sell, create, manage, or build?  Whatever it is, it was Gods idea.  These are Gods gifts to you.  The question, What should I do when I grow up? is, therefore, more a challenge of stewardship than of mystical discernment.  Apple computers do not work by accident and neither do you.  Get busy because you have a lot to do before you get that final call.

A WORK PRAYER

Lord, it sounds as if you would like me to stop holding onto the spiritual job ladder. You called the original disciples to Follow Me when they didnt know what you had ahead for them. They learned their work for you by keeping company with You. Please clarify my thinking about this important area of life, and help me think and act like your steward when I am at work.  Amen.