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God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life (Focal Point Series)

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You may believe you are called to a job or to a non-profit ministry, but do you think of yourself as called to every other part of your life? Skilled Author Gene Edward Veith points out that an idea presented in the Protestant Reformation, that of the priesthood of all believers, teaches Christians to see all of life as God's call to glorify and enjoy Him. As a citizen, a parent, a spouse, a worker, and a church member, you are called to certain holy responsibilities and benefits. Veith writes, "Every kind of work [including fathering and mothering] . . . is an occasion for priesthood, for exercising a holy service to God and to one's neighbor." Therefore, our lives aren't on hold when the boring parts seem to hold up the enjoyable parts or when business seems to hold up ministry. It's all part of our multiple calling. We have God-given vocations meant to honor and enjoy God in everything we do whether it's in the back office, in the discipling process, or on the ball field.

More than this, the author draws from Martin Luther's writing on vocation to describe God's hidden role in our work. The Lord works through our activity, even the most mundane, to further His kingdom and glorify Himself. Understanding this results in a comprehensive "theology of ordinary life." "Most people seek God in mystical experiences. . . To find Him in vocation brings Him, literally, down to earth, [and] makes us see how close He really is to us."

God At Work is inspiring. It's a well-written handling of an important subject, increasingly important as the world urges us to segregate faith from all public life. Veith argues that God didn't establish secular work apart of the sacred. He designed everything as sacred.

Having read other books by Dr. Gene E. Veith, Jr., I knew that this would also be an excellent read. Dr. Veith is culture editor for World magazine and one of the country's foremost Christian thinkers and writers. What unfolded in the pages was a book that I will refer to again and again. In it he tackles the doctrine of vocation. The book answers so many thoughtful questions: What am I supposed to be doing with my life? Why is my job so mundane and seems so insignificant if I am really doing what God wants me to do? How can I find out what I am supposed to be doing for my life's work? and many other pertinent questions that we've all struggled with. The book is based on the theology of Luther who wrote about vocation. It is certainly a missing element in much of today's Christian literature.

Being an artist and art teacher, I felt even more convinced that this is exactly what I was born to do. With this contentment also comes a renewed energy in wanting to do my job as best as I can and to be patient in my job and know that God is using me to accomplish His goals.

The book points out too that often when we are discouraged it is the enemy of our souls wanting us to give up and often when the stress and pressure are the greatest, that is when God is using us the most and that is exactly where we should be. Encountering troubles and struggles is exaclty what Christians are supposed to doing. No flowery beds of ease. It is a fight for those who want to truly live for Jesus Christ.

Dr. Veith writes with a graceful fluidity that is easy on the mind. He deals with a great human issue in a very warm and Biblical way. He knows what he is writing about and he takes the reader down new paths that are thrilling and fortifying.

This book is worth its weight in gold and it is one that you will refer back to many times over. It is a treasure and I only wish it were in hard cover. Then it would be totally perfect!

This book is a well-written, easy to read introduction to Luther's doctrine of vocation. Veith explores the doctrine of vocation and shows that it not only gives value to work, it is also the key to Christian ethics. In the introductory paragraphs, Veith explains how the doctrine of vocation is how God is at work in the normal day-to-day activities of people's lives. In providing daily bread for his people, for example, God is at work in the human callings of farmers, bakers, truck drivers, factory workers, wholesalers, retailers, etc. Different vocations, then, are rightly understood as secondary means which God has ordained to accomplish his purposes. Veith then devotes a chapter to each of the major vocations: our calling as a worker, our calling in the family, our calling as a citizen, and our calling in the church. In these chapters, he explores relevant biblical texts dealing with each of the vocations and demonstrates their application through real-life examples. To wrap up the book, Veith spends a couple chapters on the ethical implications of the doctrine of vocation and how it works to shed light on controversial ethical questions (euthanasia, abortion, etc.). I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and after reading it, I finally understood clearly how the Reformation eliminated the medieval sacred/secular distinction. It's all sacred. It's God at work.

This is the first book I've read by Gene Veith, and it was well worth it. He writes that when you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation - "doing everything for God's glory" - this is not a platitude or an outdated notion. This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God, for when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume most of our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes.

There are a lot of powerful statements and teaching in this book, and much to be digested and thought through, but one in particular is the comment on the church as a business, which appears to be showing up everywhere these days, especially in this culture.

Veith writes: "Business models can be great for businesses, and being a CEO is a worthy calling in its sphere, but the Church is not a secular institution, but a spiritual one, and the call of a pastor has a specific content and is not reducible to just leading an institution...Acting outside of one's calling is a formula for disaster."

A great read, and well worth the price. Highly recommended!!!

This is rework into usable language for all Christians to realize their callings and vocation are for service to their Lord.

Martin Luther in the Reformation returned the church of Christ to its proper understanding of work and vocation. Thus, to Luther even the common plowboy or in modern work a gas station attendant, is every bit as important as work as the missionary in Africa if done in faith in Christ.

This great restoration of Biblical teaching by Luther was furthered by Gustaf Wingren's classic "On Vocation." Veith was given this book, from whose reading comes this work.

Veith has the gift to put the complex in simple sentences and vocabulary. Wingren is difficult reading for most pastors, let alone the common layperson.

Classic quotes come from this,e.g. "But work done in faith has a different significance than work that is done in unbelief. The doctrine of vocatin helps Christians see the ordinary labors of life to be charged with meaning."

This will benefit those who read its treasures and apply it to their own vocations.

This book is a short (164 pages) treatise on the Christian doctrine of vocation. It's a solid, well-written book, but I'm less impressed with this book than I was with Veith's other book on Lutheran Christianity, "The Spirituality of the Cross," as a lot of Veith's writing seems third-hand (Veith writes about Luther's doctrine of vocation via theologian Gustaf Wingren).

Those familiar with Lutheran theology are familiar with the idea that God works through "means." The "Means of Grace," for example, are the means by which God draws Christians to faith and grants them salvation. Proclamation of the Gospel, study of the Word, and Baptism (for those who can not yet comprehend), specifically, are the means by which God can bring people to faith, according to Lutherans. But the idea of God working through means isn't limited to issues of salvation. In the natural realm, for example, God works through the means of scientific laws (i.e. physics) in order to keep the universe running. He could, should He so choose, decide not to act though those means anymore, suspend the laws of science, and watch the world fly apart at the seams. But He doesn't do that. Indeed, he shows no malice at all in acting in the natural realm, causing rain to fall "on both the just and the unjust."

Vocation is the means by which God holds human societies together. God promised us "daily bread," and He could certainly give us all manna from Heaven every day in order to fulfill that promise. However, God has instead chosen to provide us food through the vocations of the farmer, delivery worker, cook, and so on. According to the doctrine of vocation, what we understand as "the economy" is basically the interaction of the various vocations in human life. When we do our best in our vocations, we are doing God's work by providing something for all people, "the just and the unjust." When we sin in our vocations, such as by poisoning the neighbor's crops or stealing company funds, then we disrupt the means by which God has decided to provide for the people on earth. It's important to note that both Christians and non-Christians are doing God's work through their vocations. Vocation is really God providing for "the just and the unjust" through the means of "just and unjust" human beings. It's just that only Christians are aware of what's really happening.

Vocation also works in family. As Luther points out, God could have easily created each successive generation of humans from the dust, but He didn't. He gave some to be parents in order to provide for future generations of human beings. The vocation of family, interlocked with the vocations of husbands, wives, and children, is the most important vocation of all, Luther believed, because in our familial roles, we model all the other roles we will play in society. (In case you're wondering, the vocation of children is to "honor thy father and mother.") In family, we learn about authority (children submitting to parents), caring for and serving others (parents for children), and love (hopefully both directions).

God expects us "to love and to serve" others. What does this mean? What it does not mean, according to Veith via Luther's apprentice Philip Melanchthon, is that loving and serving others gets us salvation. Indeed, our relationship with God is based entirely on faith made possible by grace. Our good works are "filthy rags" to Him. However, Melanchthon says, our relationships with other human beings are defined by good works. Other people can't see "faith," but they can see us loving and serving our fellow man. What's more, it is really God doing the "loving and serving," as He works through us, providing for "both the just and the unjust," hiding in the shadows, as we work in our vocation.

In the end, the doctrine of vocation is a positive doctrine. It is not a doctrine that says "Good Christians DON'T" and forces us to do spiritual naval-gazing. Instead, it's a positive, outward driven doctrine that tells us what "Good Christians DO," which is love and serve our fellow man.

This is truly an encouraging book for all Christians to read. I believe this book will have a very broad appeal to Christians of every age, as they wonder about how the 'spiritual' enters into the 'practical' of everyday life. Veith reawakens us to the biblical truth of Christian 'vocation' or calling, whereby God uses each of us to be little incarnations of His love on earth. Understanding how even the most mundane tasks can be filled with spiritual significance as we work out our faith in love (Gal. 5:6). The marvelous truth is that by faith in Jesus Christ, we are members of Christ's body, the church, and our callings as parents, sons, daughters, grandparents, workers, citizens, etc become the realms in which Christ excercises His love through us. Doubtless this book will give many Christians a renewed outlook on their life and vocations, and not by putting them into a legalistic mindset--but rather, by showing us how our consciences are freed from the accusation of the Law by faith in Jesus Christ. And this same faith becomes living and active in all we do, to the glory of God. Yet neither is the doctrine of vocation an airy idealism. No; it also takes into account our sinful nature as humans, and how we face the cross of suffering in our vocations as well. But in all the trials and conflicts of life we have the constant promise of Jesus' forgiveness and a bodily resurrection in heaven one day. Truly a comforting book.

This book is excellent for showing the relationship between vocation and how God works in the world. It gets to the point in multiple ways, allowing the reader to clearly see that vocation is an important doctrine that Christianity has seemed to put in a drawer and forget. Veith's writing is clear. The book moves and does not become bogged down in what could be a ponderous subject. I was reading this book based on a group review of the book and was very surprised at how useful the book is and how well Veith coverd the topic. This is a msut read for anyone who is wondering about their role in life or has to answer the question, why did God put me here?

My nephew is a missionary. I do all of the finances and paperwork for him, but somehow that seems pale compared to the work a missionary does. It is so easy for those of us who desire to serve God to see that those 'in ministry' - those who are pastors or missionaries or evangelists or music leaders - somehow have a more important role in God's Kingdom then the rest of us. Gene Edward Veith reminds us that there is no role more or less important in the Kingdom. Further, no matter what job field we are called to, that is our place to be serving God, and in that place we are serving God! A good read for anyone who has the struggle of restlessness about their vocational place in the Kingdom.

This book helped me realize my own strengths and weaknesses in my vocation. The message is especially inspiring to me, as I've struggled to understand my work in relation to God's call. I recommend it to anyone striving to serve Him, while living in the real world.