In a previous post,[1] I commented on how the Apostle Paul, true to his Jewish roots, saw no distinction between the sacred and secular. For him, all of life was lived before Jesus, the now ascended king who rules his world by his word and his Spirit. But does Paul’s perspective still have relevance in the modern world?
A bridge between Paul’s world and ours is captured in an understanding of “calling” or vocation.
Reflections from Os Guinness
Reflections from Os Guinness
One person who has extensively on this topic is Os Guinness. His book The Call[2] is
a clear and helpful statement of this doctrine. He acknowledges that
much of what he writes is a “theology of retrieval”, that is, he is
picking up ideas of thinkers in the sixteenth reformation who in turn
were rethinking their faith in the light of the teaching of the New
Testament. Their perspective lays a helpful foundation that is readily
transferable to any age.
Two Distinct Aspects to “Call”
Two Distinct Aspects to “Call”
“General” or “Primary”
“General” or “Primary”
Guinness
notes that the Reformers defined calling as having two distinct
aspects. The first was the “general” or “primary” call. In his words,
our primary call as followers of Christ is “by him, to him and for him’
[3].
Like the first disciples we are called at our particular point in
history to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, we are called to a
person and not to some life task (such as medicine, politics, parenting, singleness, etc.) or to a particular place.
“Secondary” or “Specific”
“Secondary” or “Specific”
The second aspect was the “secondary” or “specific” calling which recognised that God made a claim
on our lives in the very place we find ourselves, so that “everyone,
everywhere and in everything should think speak and live and act
entirely for Him”
[4].
This could be to home making, to politics, to accounting, to sport,
etc. This is the idea that Paul is getting at in the 1 Corinthians
7:17–24 when he says “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord
has assigned to him. This is my rule in all the churches.”
Holding the Two Together and in Right Order
Holding the Two Together and in Right Order
The Primacy of “Primary”
The Primacy of “Primary”
The challenge remains to hold these two together and in the right order[5].
The primary calling must remain “primary” otherwise unhelpful
distortions will follow. For example, if the primary calling overshadows
the secondary then a risk is that “full time” Christian service is seen
as the only valid form of ministry and the secondary is seen as
unimportant or incidental. Missionaries, pastors and church workers are
seen as having the only significant role in God’s kingdom while those
Christians in “secular” work are not seen as doing anything important.
Similarly, if the secondary calling eclipses the primary, then
the risk is that we are susceptible to making an idol out of this
secondary focus. This can, and often does, come out of the best motive.
People take seriously that all of life needs to be lived for the glory
of God, but then, focus on one area to the exclusion of others. Given
their deeper sense of purpose, they are likely to be successful in
whatever their work is, be it in the business world, the church or the
home. However, and ironically, more often than not, their work becomes
an idol. This may be the cause of why so many men in the middle of life
drift away from following Christ at the same time as experiencing
considerable success in their working world.
Holding Both Together and in Right Order
Holding Both Together and in Right Order
But if, and only if, the two are held together and in the right
order, it will lead to the dynamic sense of calling that Guinness so
beautifully captures in the following definition:
“Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively
that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is
invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to
his summons and service”
[6].
I think Guinness is getting to the heart Paul’s exhortation to
the Colossian church: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).
In future posts, I hope to explore how this doctrine can help us forge a strong link between our work and our faith.
[1] See http://australia.thegospelcoalition.org/article/on…
[2] Guiness, Os, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville TN: Word, 1998).
[3] Guiness, The Call, 31.
[4] Guiness, The Call, 31.
[5] Guiness, The Call, 31.
[6] Guiness, The Call, 4.
