Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:9-10

Our calling is primarily about our identity. And that is not usually the answer people are looking for when they ask, “What is my calling?” Usually, people want to know, “What job should I do? What career should I take? What skill, what capacity, what gift might be distinctly mine?”

Our calling is not merely a job description or even principally a set of skills or gifts. Our calling is an identity. Who are we?

As creatures made in God’s image, we are known by Jesus and called to be faithful followers. I might not have a job. I might not have a clear picture of whether my work is meaningful or satisfying. I may have very meaningful work that doesn’t satisfy. Whatever the combination of circumstances might be, the questions of identity are still the same:

Who am I to be today? How do I live as an earnest follower of Jesus who displays the righteousness and justice and mercy of God?

Video: Watch the short video, “Is there a difference between calling and work?” with Mark Labberton, President of Fuller Seminary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u9n2zA7Quw

Prayer: Dear God, remind me of my identity in you. I am your follower, your servant, your disciple. Thank you for calling me to this service. No matter what task I am facing, let me always remember my identity as a child of God by your mercy and grace. Amen.

Author: Theology of Work Project

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Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.