C.S. Lewis states in Learning in War-Time, "All our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God, even the humblest: and all of them, even the noblest, will be sinful if they are not. Christianity does not simply replace our natural life and substitute a new one: it is rather a new organization which exploits, to its own supernatural ends, these natural materials." Although Lewis' sermon was to students at Oxford during a war, I believe that his words still bring truth and apply beautifully to the lives of Christians everywhere at any point in their lives.
Lewis addressed the concept of vocation for Christians and also the misinterpretation that many of us have to God's calling in our lives. Many Christians have the mentality that our lives need to be fully devoted to God in every aspect. In a sense, this is true, but we do need to be careful. If I were to just focus on religion and nothing else, I would essentially be secluding myself from the rest of the world. This is not what God calls us to do. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commands us to "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." How can we bring others to Christ if we stay locked up inside our own security blanket of religion? It is also important to use our judgement of whether or not we should be in certain situations in this world, but God ultimately calls us to reach out to the world around us.
I also liked how Lewis addressed the idea that Christians can honor God in everything they do. It is not necessary for us to live inside our security blanket of religion because we can do so much to worship God in our everyday life in His Creation. Lewis states, "The work of a Beethoven, and the work of a charwoman, become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord'... A mole must dig to the glory of God and cock must crow. We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation." God calls each of us to a different vocation. Although, many times I think of living a life of fulfilling God's purpose is giving all worldly possessions and working in a third-world country. This may be a calling for some, but not for all. If every person went to work in ministry, where would our world be. Our world needs Christians in every vocation in order to relate and bring others to Christ.
This sermon gives me the perspective that God will use me in any vocation that I essentially will choose to participate in. I only hope that I can live a life of devotion to God in everything I do; giving Him all the glory, honor and praise.
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I like the last part of your 2nd to last paragraph because it related to what Mr. Ribiero said in Class last week. At first he felt called to be a minister and then later in life he felt that his true calling was engineering and so became an engineer. For a while he was unsatisfied with being an engineer until he realized that he was a de facto minister, but in the engineering line.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristen, I liked how you brought up the importance of us shining our lights in the world. Sometimes it may seem easier for us to live in our safe, Christian community, but God calls us to go out into the world and spread the gospel. In our lives we must do everything to praise God, but in doing so we can't hide ourselves from the world. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI like what you said in the second paragraph about us being fully devoted to God and the fact that Lewis points out that we have to live our normal lives as well. I always believed that there was never something as too much religion, but Lewis makes a case for that, and I agree with him. I also like how you incorporated the idea of God using you in different professions, not just as ministers. It's comforting to hear that God can use us in almost every vocation that we choose.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post Kristen. I'm glad that you addressed the issue of vocation. Especially durring the college years, we feel the urgency to find a calling in life. Sometimes it can be difficult to know the road that God is leading us down, and we have all sorts of questions about which field we should go into. During all of this, we have to remember that we can serve him in whatever place we end up by doing our work to the best of our ability and to his glory. We can even do that now by being diligent in our studies. It is comforting to know that our future lies in God's hands, and that no matter where we end up, we will be able to serve him.
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