Matthew 22:36-38, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 'This is the first and greatest commandment.’”
I was reading this verse and it became apparent that there is something that is not in the greatest commandment, which would incorporate a lot of who we are suppose to be. There is no statement of vocation. There is no statement of education. There is no statement of social standing. Maybe there was a follow up verse that would mention that after we love God with all our hearts and minds then we would know what we are suppose to do with our lives, so I kept reading.
Matthew 22:39-40, “And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
That sure does not seem to help much more in light of me trying to find what in the world I am to do with my life. Or does it? Maybe we are missing the point. Maybe we miss the tree for the forest. Maybe I miss God because I keep looking at myself.
Could it be that our purpose is solely God and God alone and everything that follows is just an outflow of our sole purpose? Kind of confusing? Think of it like this. If you are seeking after Him with all your heart, soul and mind then your desires will be His desires. The desire to play music will come from God and your purpose to play music will be to play music to glorify your love to Him. Not to impress people or to get all ‘A’s’ in classes. Doing your best for God is great, but not for people or yourself, that is selfish pride and sin.
It is freeing to think that I do not have to decide what I need to be right away, but only to know that I am here for God’s purpose. As you move forward, He will give you desires, interests that you will do that will give honor to Him. Whether it is teaching, preaching, safety science, respiratory care, or a garbage man, as long as it is not the vocation that is who we are, but the One where the vocation flowed from in the first place. We should not be identified by the vocation, but the Creator. What is the first question you ask someone? What do you do for a living? Where do you go to school? How come we do not ask instead: Where do you attend church? Are you a believer in Christ?
Both sets of questions can be just as offensive if asked. What if you asked someone that was just fired? It would hurt to be asked that question. What if you were not able to attend college for one reason or another, or had to drop out, or were kicked out? How would the question make you feel? We are more comfortable still asking those questions then the others, because we have made purpose, who we are, vocation instead of God, who we are in.
Purpose is God, and the rest flows from that foundation. Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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