September 5, 2016

Your Work, God's Mission

When my sons tell me they want to be race car drivers when they grow up, I think “just wait until you’re in the real world.” But why? At what point do we stop dreaming about what we can be and do?

How can we begin to dream about and carry out our work as a way to participate in the mission of God?

Dreams Aren’t Just For Children

You may be looking for that dream job. But maybe that dream job isn’t the point. Maybe the point is to see how your dreams (a calling, perhaps) can lead you to follow God, find meaning, and change the world. It might mean a new career, but it might just mean bringing your dreams to your current work.

Make Good Tables

Approach your work with excellence. “…whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). In her essay “Why Work?” Dorothy Sayers discusses a Christian skilled in carpentry. “What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.”

You Are A Missionary

You don’t need to join the Episcopal Service Corp or travel around the world to pursue the mission of God (although some might!). You are meant to pursue it first where you’ve been placed. You may be a lawyer, a barista, an artist, or a carpenter. But you’re so much more than that.

On this Labor Day, we rest for a moment and give thanks for the work of our hands. We recognize and celebrate the many and varied vocations that Christians are called to pursue. Wherever you find yourself, and whatever you’re doing, you are a missionary. You are called to partner with God to reflect God’s Kingdom right where you are.

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