So I'm reading all about vocation today for my English senior seminar, and it's nearly driving me crazy—mostly because I read a lot of this four years ago when I started Calvin, though I suspect those readings were possibly less-dense freshman-versions of the same idea. Still.
I know many of you have been hit over the head with this conversation too, but just in case you haven't or you simply need a reminder...Vocation basically means your calling, or to be called. People often talk about what we are "called to do" in life—and we get this mixed up a thousand ways and never quite figure out what it means and stew over it a long time until, finally, we figure out that we've all been a bunch of arrogant jerks who think that God is sitting up in heaven, twiddling his thumbs, and worrying about whether we're marrying the right person or choosing the wrong career path. And once we're humble enough to figure out there's a much bigger picture than our few miles of existence, we also get the message that God still deeply cares about our concerns and joys and interests, however tiny or broken.
Sigh. It can get confusing.
But as I keep paging through basically the same stuff written in different genres and by different authors, one thing is pretty clear about vocation, and thankfully, it's pretty simple: God wants you.
That's it. He gave himself up, so that you could be freed to give yourself up. To him and his purpose...his Church, his world, his pain, his joy...his absurd grace and forgiveness...(I just realized how much I say "him" or "his" when referring to God, and how not-sure I am about that particular pronoun, and how I'll have to explore that in another blog. Hold on to that.) ...to his delight, his surprise, wonder, and glory, and beauty, and depth, and mystery...all of it! Wow.
So quit worrying. Because God wants you, and the fantastic thing is, he already has you. So just stop clutching at whatever it is that's keeping you from letting God reveal who he is and who you are in him.
