Dear SCC & Friends,
A gift of God… ~Ecclesiastes 3:13
Reflection #286
In the medieval church, having a vocation referred exclusively to full-time church work. If a person sensed a calling, it was a sign that they might “have a vocation,” which meant becoming a priest, monk or nun. The ordinary occupations of life were acknowledged as necessary but considered secondary in spiritual importance. The Reformation emphasized anew “the priesthood of all believers” teaching that non-clerics had vocations which were equally important to the Lord. “The priesthood of all believers” did not make everyone into church workers; rather, it turned every kind of work into a sacred calling. ~Gene Veith ~Martin Luther referred to vocation as a mask of God… The simple activities of work and family are hiding places for God to reveal Himself. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. ~Ecc. 3:12-13~Selah~
Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate (work) it and keep it. ~Gen. 2: 8, 15 God ordained work before the fall of man and our work continues to this present day. The Lord has called us not only to be, but also to do… Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening… ~Ps. 103:23 The reality is that work is as much a basic human need as food, beauty, rest, friendship and prayer… The Lord has both purpose and provision in the midst of our labor. Thank God every morning when we get up that we have something to do which must be done, whether we like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do our best, will breed in us a hundred virtues which the idle never know.~Charles Kingsley~ Our job (employment, occupation, profession, career, business or trade) is a gift from God to accomplish His good purpose. …for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. ~Philip.2:13 We were made for these days… Happy Labor Day!
Keep up the good work,
Kevin