Vocation Over Occupation

"As His fellow-workers, we urge you not to let your acceptance of his grace come to nothing" – 2Corinthians 6:1

I think a very important message for the body of Christ at this time, is how our vocation as Children of God and co-redeemers, takes pre-eminence over every other thing. This is a concept which I only truly grasped in the last 2 years and it has radically changed my understanding of the order of things in my life.

‎The end of Chapter 5 of 2 Corinthians was the thought process that led to Paul statement in 2Corinthians 6:1 and Paul was talking about how Christ has reconciled us to God and how now, God has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation. That chapter of Corinthians was explaining our mandate to us as born-again believers.  We are to go into the world and preach this same message which has delivered us from death.

God doesn't expect us to get saved and then sit pretty. The moment we are saved, our mission and life's goal is to see God glorified. In the agenda of God just like Jesus declared when He gave the Great Commission, this means going into the whole world and making disciples of all the nations. This is how God's Kingdom is established even here on earth. This isn't‎ a selective commission, it is a commission for each and every Christian.

So what Paul is saying is that we ought not to allow the grace a.k.a ministry we've received as Co-workers of Christ in spreading the gospel be in vain. He is saying that we are to really go into the world and preach this message, diligently and unrelentingly.

Often times we think about how we can keep our Jobs, manage relationships and live life in a way where we get by and manage to not sin. As if somehow that is the ultimate goal. That kind of thinking has things backward. God did not send Jesus His only royal, begotten son to die so we can tiptoe through life, trying to strike a "balance". The idea is not for us to live our lives in a way that is aligned to what obtains in the world, making sure we do not cause a racket with unbelievers but technically not committing sin. 

‎God has called us to live lives that give glory to Him In every ramification! On the Job, in our relationships, marriages, family, in the business world and even with our hobbies.  What this means is that instead of thinking of how we can 'manage' our Christianity alongside our work life or social life, we ought to be thinking of why God has us in those places and how He would like to use us to showcase His glory and bring more Sons into the Kingdom.

I've titled this piece, vocation over occupation because many of us Christians have things confused. Your occupation never comes before your vocation but rather is dictated by your vocation. Our vocation is our divine call and our occupation is our work, business and every other role we occupy. Don’t get it twisted, you are not a doctor that is a Christian, you are a Christian doctor.

We really need to quit treating our Christianity like a side thing because it’s not. Everything we do and everything we are, ought to flow from our Identity in Christ. If you’ve managed to stay years in a role and your highest achievement is that you did not sin and you managed to get by on technicalities, in God’s agenda, that is less than impressive. When God calls you to a place, He always has people, systems and nations in mind. You cannot afford to live a life that is not Kingdom conscious. That is poor stewardship. If Christ calls us co-workers and He was always about His father’s business, then so should we. God’s design is that we live Kingdom conscious, understanding that every Job, every relationship, ever position, role etc. that we find ourselves in, is an opportunity to spread the gospel; not just in our words but in our actions.

Any other kind of lifestyle particularly the 'tiptoeing, balancing’ sort is a total waste of our salvation and the very grace Paul pleads with us not to waste.